New climate report: Oceans rising faster, ice melting more

A grim new international science assessment concludes that climate change is making the world's oceans warm, rise, lose oxygen and get more acidic at an ever-faster pace, while melting even more ice and snow.

News 12 Staff

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Sep 26, 2019, 9:58 AM

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Updated 1,913 days ago

A grim new international science assessment concludes that climate change is making the world's oceans warm, rise, lose oxygen and get more acidic at an ever-faster pace, while melting even more ice and snow.

But that's nothing compared to what Wednesday's special U.N.-affiliated oceans and ice report says is coming if global warming doesn't slow down.

It projects three feet of rising seas by the end of the century, much fewer fish, weakening ocean currents, even less snow and ice and nastier hurricanes.

NOAA released an interactive map showing what it would look like in New Jersey.

The light blue color shows the parts of South Jersey that would be flooded by sea levels rising three feet.

Cape May, Sea Isle City, and Ocean City would be almost completely underwater.

In Monmouth and Ocean counties, the rise would be more devastating for places still affected by Superstorm Sandy.

Union Beach, Port Monmouth, and the Highlands would be some the hardest hit areas.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says warming of oceans and ice will harm people, plants, animals, food and the world economy.

Report co-author Hans-Otto Portner says with sea level rise and all these changes, Earth is looking at a future completely different than it is now.

AP wire services helped contribute to this report.