Rate of sea level rise doubles in decade amid ‘severe’ stresses on oceans: UN

The world’s oceans face “severe” pressure from human activities as the rate of sea level rise has doubled in 10 years, a UN-led report warned, urging a global effort to limit the effects of pollution and climate change.

The “intensifying” stressors, which include pollution and large-scale industrial fishing, are cumulative, according to the Third World Ocean Assessment (WOA III), the only global integrated assessment of the world’s oceans covering environmental, economic and social aspects.

WOA III, which assessed the state of oceans from 2021- 2025, is a collective effort of interdisciplinary writing teams made up of more than 650 experts from dozens of countries.

The assessment underlined on Monday that human-induced activities cause widespread biodiversity loss and put ocean systems under “severe strain.”

According to the findings, sea levels continue to rise at an increasing rate, from 2 millimeters (0.08 inches) a year prior to 2015 to 4.3 mm a year in 2023.

The study also found that approximately 16% of the total increase in ocean heat content since 1955 has occurred since 2018.

“We cannot keep treating the ocean as limitless. Urgent global collaboration is needed to protect marine ecosystems,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “We must build a new relationship with the ocean [that is] grounded in science, framed by international law and built on shared responsibility across nations, sectors and generations.”