New Zealand Sea Level Rising More Quickly than Forecast

FILE - This March 30, 2004, file photo, shows Tarawa atoll, Kiribati. Ioane Teitiota and his wife fought for years to be allowed to stay in New Zealand as refugees, arguing that rising sea levels caused by global warming threaten the very existence of their tiny Pacific nation of Kiribati, one of the lowest lying countries on Earth. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

The sea level is rising twice as fast as previously forecast around parts of New Zealand, according to research published Monday, putting the country's two largest cities at risk decades earlier than expected.

Government-backed data amassed from around the country's coastline found some areas are already sinking three to four millimeters per year, speeding up a long-expected threat, AFP said.