Antarctic ice sheet melting 1,20,000 years ago increased sea-level by 3 metres, says study

Global warming has become one of the most important issues for countries across the globe as most of them are now facing a serious threat from the effect of climate change. A recent study shows that melting of the ice sheets in Antarctica during the Last Interglacial (LIG), a period 1,29,000 years ago have led to an increase in sea-level by 3 metres. The environmental changes were recorded from Patriot Hills Blue Ice Area at the periphery of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). 

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The latest study conducted by a team headed by Chris Turney at the University of South Wales suggests that the melting of West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) was likely caused by less than 2 degrees Celcius ocean warming and with the growing effect of climate change, the increase in sea-level might happen again. The melting of the ice sheets and the likely increase in the sea-level demonstrates the importance of the Paris climate agreement. 

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Paris climate agreement

The Paris Agreement that came into effect in November 2016, is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that requires signatories to keep the increase in global temperature to well below 2-degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels. As per reports, currently, 188 countries part of the UNFCCC have become a party to it, except Iran and Turkey. 

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The initiative suffered a major setback in 2017 when the United States President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the agreement, which was signed by the Obama administration in April 2016. On November 4, 2019, the Trump administration gave a formal notice of intention to withdraw, which takes 12 months to come into effect. So, the earliest possible effective withdrawal date by the United States will be after November 4, 2020.

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(with inputs from agencies)