Global sea levels, ocean temperatures and greenhouse gases hit record highs in 2021

NOAA research finds 2021 was one of the warmest years in history

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Greenhouse gas concentrations, global sea levels and ocean heat content all reached record highs in 2021, a study published on Wednesday showed.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) led hundreds of global scientists in an annual review of the changing climate.

Researchers found that seas around the globe rose 4.9 millimetres above 2020 levels, the 10th consecutive annual increase. This marks a cumulative 97mm rise over 1993, when records began.

The findings support recent research stating that sea-level rise is “locked in” due to the melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet and the NOAA reporting that levels along US coastlines could rise by up to 50 centimetres by 2050.

“The data presented in this report are clear — we continue to see more compelling scientific evidence that climate change has global impacts and shows no sign of slowing,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad.

Global ocean heat content, measured from the ocean’s surface to a depth of more than 1,800 metres, continued to increase and reached new highs in 2021, the NOAA said.

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  Displaced people have put up makeshift tents along elevated motorways and railway tracks in Pakistan's Balochistan province to escape the flooded plains. AFP

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  A man and his children wade through floodwaters in Charsadda, Pakistan. AP

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  Homes are surrounded by floodwaters in Jaffarabad, a district of Balochistan province. AP

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  Children are reflected in a mirror near their flood-hit home in Charsadda. AP

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  People launch a wooden boat into rising floodwaters in Mehar, Pakistan. Reuters

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  People affected by floods move to higher ground in Dadu district, Sindh province, Pakistan. EPA

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  Displaced people take shelter on an elevated motorway to escape rising floodwaters. EPA

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  People affected by floods wait for relief in Dadu district, Sindh province. EPA

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  A girl sits amid the rubble of her damaged home in Charsadda district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. AP

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  A sick child struggles to eat in Charsadda after his family fled their home due to flooding. AP

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  A man rides his donkey-drawn cart during a heavy rainfall in flood-hit Dera Allah Yar town in Balochistan province. AFP

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  Homes are surrounded by floodwaters in Sohbat Pur, a city in Balochistan. AP

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  A boy pushes a motorbike after it stalled in Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Reuters

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  Children affected by floods wait to receive food in Nowshera district. EPA

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  A man throws water out of his flooded home in Nowshera. EPA

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  People assess the damage to their home in Nowshera. EPA

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  A family salvages items from the ruins of their home, which was destroyed by flooding, in the Shikarpur district of Sindh province. AP

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  The flooding has affected more than 33 million people in a country of 220 million. AP

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  People salvage items from a damaged building in Kalam, Swat Valley. AP

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  Hotels are surrounded by floodwaters in Kalam. AP

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  Displaced people sit on a tractor with their belongings as they make their way to higher ground in Shikarpur. AFP

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  A child sits on a dry ground at a makeshift camp in Shikarpur. AFP

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  People jostle for drinking water delivered by a municipality lorry along a flooded road in Sohbatpur, Balochistan. AP

The report also found greenhouse gases reached record levels last year.

Carbon dioxide emissions seen in 2021 were the “highest measured in the modern observational records as well as the highest in at least the last million years based on paleoclimatic records”, the report said.

Scientists added that the global warming continues unabated despite efforts to curb climate change.

The study showed that 2021 was among the top six warmest years recorded since the 1800s. The past seven years have been the hottest in history.

The Cop27 climate conference is being held in Egypt this November and the UN says “much more is needed” to be done in the fight against global warming.

“With many communities hit with 1,000-year floods, exceptional drought and historic heat this year, it shows that the climate crisis is not a future threat but something we must address today,” Mr Spinrad said.

This summer alone, at least a third of Pakistan is underwater due to historic flooding, record monsoon rainfall has hit India, and the US, China and Europe reported unprecedented high temperatures.

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  Dried mud and old trees at Colliford Lake in Cornwall, England, where water levels have severely dropped exposing the unseen trees and rocks in Cornwall's largest lake and reservoir. PA

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  A large section of exposed River Rhine riverbed, due to low water levels caused by drought, in Duesseldorf, Germany. Bloomberg

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  A boat on a bank of the receding Danube river, after a lengthy drought near the village of Cortanovci, Serbia. AP

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  People take a stroll on the river bed of the Waal as water levels dropped because of drought in Nijmegen, Netherlands. AP

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  People take photos on the southern tip of Margaret Island, which can be seen due to low water level of the River Danube, in Budapest, Hungary. AP

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  The dried-up river Tille in Lux, France. AP

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  A bridge, which is usually submerged, over the dried bed of Llwyn-on Reservoir, during a heatwave in Wales. Reuters

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  The Rhine river with low water levels in Cologne, Germany. AP

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  The Yesa reservoir and the Aragon River are practically without water in Yesa, Navarra, Spain. EPA

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  Low water levels at Baitings Reservoir in Ripponden, West Yorkshire, England. Reuters

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  Low water levels at the Odra river near Czelin village, north-western Poland. EPA

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  Boats on the dried bed of the drought-affected Doubs river on the border with France in Les Brenets, Switzerland. Reuters

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  A person sits by a reservoir with low water levels and dried grass at Walthamstow Wetlands in London, England. EPA

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  The dried-up River Po that has been affected by the worst drought in 70 years, near Borgo Virgilio, Italy. Reuters