Between climate records and threats to coastal areas, the year 2024 marked a worrying acceleration in sea level rise. According to a NASA study published on March 13, 2025, ocean levels have exceeded scientific forecasts, reaching 0.59 cm instead of the estimated 0.43 cm.
An accelerating trend
“The ocean continues to rise, and this rise is getting faster,” warns Josh Willis, a researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In just three decades, the average sea level has increased by 10 cm, a phenomenon that shows no signs of slowing down.
While the melting of glaciers and polar ice caps has long been the main driver of this rise, the situation changed in 2024: now, thermal expansion of the oceans – due to warming waters – has become the dominant cause. This is a direct consequence of the record temperatures recorded that year, the hottest since records began in 1850.
Already visible consequences
The rise in sea levels is no longer a distant threat. In France, for example, coastal erosion is accelerating, and the impact on populations is becoming concerning.
| Impact | Data |
|---|---|
| Reduction of coastline | Loss of 30 km² in 50 years (National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information). |
| Homes at risk | 1.5 million French people live in at-risk areas. |
| Projections for 2100 | 500,000 homes threatened by flooding. |
“The oceans are at their highest levels in three decades,” emphasizes Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, an oceanography expert at NASA.
A major challenge for the decades to come
The acceleration of sea level rise poses considerable challenges:
- Submersion of infrastructure: billions of euros will be needed to strengthen dikes and protect coastal cities.
- Increased erosion: storms and flooding waves worsen the disappearance of beaches and cliffs.
- Forced displacements: some islands and coastal regions will become uninhabitable, leading to massive climate migrations.
Without rapid action to limit global warming, these trends are likely to worsen, with irreversible repercussions for millions of people around the world.
Source: rse-magazine.com