Rise in global sea levels could have 'profound consequences’

Scientists believe that global sea levels could rise far more than predicted, due to accelerating melting in Greenland and Antarctica.

A small boat in the Illulissat Icefjord in western Greenland,
dwarfed by icebergs that have calved from Greenland's largest glacier, 

The long-held view has been that the world's seas would rise by a maximum of just under a metre by 2100.

This new study, based on expert opinions, projects that the real level may be around double that figure.

This could lead to the displacement of hundreds of millions of people, the authors say.

• Antarctic instability 'is spreading'
• Thousands of penguin chicks wiped out
• Warning from 'Antarctica's last forests'

The question of sea-level rise was one of the most controversial issues raised by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), when it published its fifth assessment report in 2013.

Read the BBC story by Matt McGrath - “Rise in global sea levels could have 'profound consequences’.”