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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Karen McVeigh

‘Severe’ stress on oceans as rate of sea level rise doubles in 10 years, UN warns

Waves crashing over Tynemouth pier on the North East coast of England
Waves crash over Tynemouth pier in north-east England. Sea levels were rising at 2mm a year before 2015 but the rate reached 4.3mm a year by 2023. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

The world’s oceans are under “severe and accelerating” pressure from human activities, with the rate of sea-level rise double that of a decade ago, according to a damning assessment from the United Nations.

The “intensifying” stressors, which include pollution and large-scale industrial fishing, are cumulative, said the report, resulting in widespread biodiversity loss and putting ocean systems under “severe strain”.

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