Global warming could drive a much more dramatic increase in sea levels than current projections suggest, scientists say, citing a rise of 10 metres (33 feet) during Earth's last warming interlude more than 100,000 years ago.
During the last interglacial period, "sea levels rose at up to three metres per century, far exceeding the roughly 0.3-metre rise observed over the past 150 years," they said in a blog about their findings, published Wednesday in the journal Nature Communications.
The scientists reported that during Earth's last interglacial period 125,000 to 118,000 years ago, when temperatures were only 1.0 degrees Celsius higher than today, the sea rose 10 metres.