The UN Secretary General explained the threat of the disappearance of entire states forever from the face of the earth

Sea level rise threatens ‘biblical outcome’

Sea level rise threatens “biblical mass exodus,” UN chief warns. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is calling for urgent action as the effects of climate change bring a “torrent of trouble” to almost a billion people.

Increasing rates of sea level rise threaten “an exodus of entire populations on a biblical scale,” the UN Secretary-General has warned. According to The Guardian, the climate crisis is causing sea levels to rise faster than in the past 3,000 years, bringing a “torrent of trouble” to nearly a billion people, from London to Los Angeles and Bangkok to Buenos Aires, António Guterres said on Tuesday. According to him, some countries may cease to exist, drowning under the waves.

Speaking at the UN Security Council, Guterres said there is a need to cut carbon emissions, address issues such as poverty, which exacerbate the impact of rising sea levels on communities, and develop new international laws to protect those left homeless – and even stateless. – all this is necessary. The UN Secretary-General said sea level rise is becoming a threat-enhancing factor that, while damaging lives, economies and infrastructure, has “dramatic consequences” for global peace and security.

Significant sea level rise is already inevitable at current levels of global warming, but the consequences of failing to address the problem are “unthinkable”.

Guterres said: “Low-lying communities and entire countries could disappear forever. We may be witnessing a mass exodus of entire nations on a biblical scale. And we would see even fiercer competition for fresh water, land and other resources.”

The International Law Commission evaluates the legal situation. In 2020, the UN human rights committee ruled that it is illegal for governments to return people to countries where their lives could be threatened by the climate crisis.

A new compilation of data from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) shows that sea levels are rising rapidly and the global ocean has warmed faster over the past century than at any time in the past 11,000 years. Sea levels are rising as warmer water expands and ice caps and glaciers melt.

Professor Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General, said: “Sea level rise poses risks to economies, livelihoods, human settlements, health, well-being, food and water security and cultural values ​​in the near and long term.”

Guterres said: “Even if global warming is miraculously limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, there will still be a significant rise in sea levels.”

Sea level rise of about 50 cm by 2100 is likely, but the World Meteorological Organization has stated that over the next 2000 years there will be an increase of 2-3 meters if the temperature is limited to 1.5 °C, and 2-6 meters if it will be limited to 2 °C. An October UN report stated that “there is no reliable path to 1.5°C”. Current national targets, if met, would mean a temperature increase of 2.4°C.

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