Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
Unconfirmed number of fatalities in Texas flooding amid catastrophic rainfall. Read here Chevron right
Tropical depression expected to strengthen before landfall in South Carolina. Get details Chevron right

Columbus, OH

74°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

74°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars
Air Quality Alert

News / Climate

The world’s ice sheets just got a dire prognosis, and coastlines are going to pay the price

The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets together hold enough fresh water to raise global sea levels by around 213 feet — an unlikely scenario but one that must be acknowledged to fully understand the risk.

By Laura Paddison, CNN

Published May 20, 2025 10:55 AM EDT | Updated May 20, 2025 1:53 PM EDT

Copied

A group of climbers were practicing rescue missions in Vallunaraju, Peru, when a large chunk of ice from a glacier broke off right next to them on April 13. The climbers watched in astonishment.

(CNN) — The world’s ice sheets are on course for runaway melting, leading to multiple feet of sea level rise and “catastrophic” migration away from coastlines, even if the world pulls off the miraculous and keeps global warming to within 1.5 degrees, according to new research.

A group of international scientists set out to establish what a “safe limit” of warming would be for the survival of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. They pored over studies that took data from satellites, climate models and evidence from the past, from things like ice cores, deep-sea sediments and even octopus DNA.

What they found painted a dire picture.

The world has pledged to restrict global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels to stave off the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.

However, not only is this limit speeding out of reach — the world is currently on track for up to 2.9 degrees of warming by 2100. But the most alarming finding of the study, published Tuesday in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, is that 1.5 might not even be good enough to save the ice sheets.

Even if the world sustains today’s level of warming, at 1.2 degrees, it could still trigger rapid ice sheet retreat and catastrophic sea level rise, the scientists found.

Icebergs drift by in Disko Bay on July 16, 2024 at Ilulissat, Greenland. Earlier in 2024, scientists released a study in which they concluded that Greenland’s glaciers, which all descend from the Greenland Ice Sheet, have retreated about 20% more than previously estimated. (Photo credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets together hold enough fresh water to raise global sea levels by around 213 feet — an unlikely scenario but one that must be acknowledged to fully understand the risk.

Since the 1990s, the amount of ice they’ve lost has quadrupled; they are currently losing around 370 billion tons a year. Ice sheet melting is the dominant contributor to rising seas and the rate of annual sea level rise has doubled over the past 30 years.

It’s set to get worse.

Ice floats near the coast of West Antarctica on October 28, 2016. Scientists are concerned the West Antarctic Ice Sheet may be in a state of irreversible decline directly contributing to rising sea levels. (Photo credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Glaciers in Antarctica on February 07, 2022. A new study suggests even if the world meets its climate targets it may not be enough to save the planet's ice sheets. (Photo credit: Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Multiple studies suggest 1.5 degrees of warming is “far too high” to prevent rapid ice sheet retreat that would be irreversible on human timescales, and the world should prepare for many feet of sea level rise over the coming centuries, according to the study.

“You don’t slow sea level rise at 1.5, in fact, you see quite a rapid acceleration,” said Chris Stokes, a study author and glaciologist at Durham University.

It’s an existential threat to the world’s coastal populations. Around 230 million people live less than 1 meter (3.2 feet) ï»¿above sea level. Even small changes in the amount of ice held in the ice sheets will “profoundly alter” global coastlines, displacing hundreds of millions of people and causing damage that stretches the limits of adaptation, the study found.

Seas could surge by 0.4 inches a year by the end of the century, within the lifetimes of young people now, the scientists found.

At this level, which equates to 40 inches a century, “you’re going to see massive land migration on scales that we’ve never witnessed since modern civilization,” said Jonathan Bamber, a study author and glaciologist at the University of Bristol.

There are still huge uncertainties about where tipping points lie. The way climate change unfolds is not linear and it’s unclear exactly when warming might trigger rapid retreat and even collapse.

What’s hugely concerning, the study authors say, is that the best estimates of “safe” temperature thresholds for saving the ice sheets keep going down as scientists better understand their vulnerability to climate change.

Early modeling suggested temperatures would need to hit around 3 degrees of warming to destabilize the Greenland ice sheet, for example, but recent estimates suggest it would only take around 1.5 degrees.

In this aerial view a seagull bathes in the meltwater pond on an iceberg in the Ilulissat Icefjord on July 16, 2024 near Ilulissat, Greenland. (Photo credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

To avoid the rapid collapse of one of more ice sheets means limiting global warming to closer to 1 degree above pre-industrial levels, the study authors concluded.

This would require drastic cuts to the amount of fossil fuels humans burn, something which looks exceptionally unlikely as countries including the US continue to embrace oil, coal and gas.

The world is already starting to see some of the worst-case scenarios play out in terms of ice loss, Stokes said.

“There’s very little that we’re observing that gives us hope here,” he said. “The absolute best-case scenario is that sea level rise is slow and steady,” he added.

The findings don’t mean the world should give up on climate targets, as every fraction of a degree of warming translates to worse impacts, Stokes said.

“Limiting warming to 1.5 will be a major achievement. It should absolutely be our target, but in no sense will it slow or stop sea level rise and melting ice sheets.”

Read more:

It’s the world’s northernmost airport. And its runway is melting
Millions at risk as these major U.S. cities slowly sink
Global sea levels are rising, putting coastal cities at risk

The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

Report a Typo

Weather News

video

Independence Day floods leave multiple people dead in Texas

Jul. 4, 2025
video

Rescuers save person clinging to an electric pole amid Texas floods

Jul. 4, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Severe Weather

Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend

10 hours ago

Severe Weather

Storms kill 3 in New Jersey, knock out power across Northeast

15 hours ago

Hurricane

Tropical depression to strengthen before South Carolina landfall

6 hours ago

Weather News

Fatalities in Texas amid catastrophic rainfall, water rescues

7 hours ago

Weather Forecasts

Heat, humidity return to the East

11 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Weather News

‘Shark Whisperer’ swims its way into our shark obsession

7 hours ago

Weather News

How to keep pets calm during 4th of July fireworks

1 week ago

Travel

Fourth of July gas hasn’t been this cheap since 2021

3 days ago

Weather News

What makes fireworks burst with vibrant colors?

7 hours ago

Health

There is no safe amount of processed meat to eat, new research shows

1 day ago

AccuWeather Climate The world’s ice sheets just got a dire prognosis, and coastlines are going to pay the price
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...