NASA Analysis Shows Unexpected Sea Level Rise During 2024

New York: Global Sea levels rose faster than anticipated in 2024, primarily due to the expansion of ocean water as it warms, NASA reported on Thursday.

A NASA-led analysis found that last year's rate of sea level rise was 0.59 centimetres per year, higher than the expected 0.43 centimetres per year, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Every year is a little bit different, but what's clear is that the ocean continues to rise, and the rate of rise is getting faster and faster," said Josh Willis, a sea level researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

The unexpected increase was attributed to an unusual amount of ocean warming, combined with meltwater from land-based ice, such as glaciers, NASA explained.

In recent years, about two-thirds of sea level rise was driven by the addition of water from melting ice sheets and glaciers, with the remaining third attributed to thermal expansion of seawater.

However, in 2024, these contributions were reversed, with two-thirds of the rise coming from thermal expansion, according to NASA.

"With 2024 as the warmest year on record, Earth's expanding oceans are following suit, reaching their highest levels in three decades," said Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, head of physical oceanography programmes and the Integrated Earth System Observatory at NASA Headquarters in Washington.