Rising global sea levels are less visible to the eye than many other effects of climate change. But these, like other problems, have accelerated significantly in recent decades. Since 1990, the sea level has risen by about 10 centimeters.
According to scientists, even in an ideal favorable scenario, sea level will have risen by more than half a meter by the end of the century. At worst, they will reach 1.5 meters by 2100.
This will lead to flooding of large and densely populated areas. Some island states in Oceania may disappear completely.
If sea levels rise by one meter in Europe, around 13 million people in existing or potential flood zones could be forced to leave their homes.
In Asia, it will affect the extremely populous deltas of large rivers, such as the Ganges Delta in Bangladesh. This can also result in new conflicts fueled by increased poverty, low resources and ethno-religious tensions.
In addition, international law does not currently address such situations as loss of territory due to the effects of climate change.
In Oceania, entire island populations have already been evacuated. In Southeast Asia, some major cities, such as Jakarta, are being forced to look for new ways to deal with rising sea levels and coastal erosion caused by human activity.
Rich countries, such as the Netherlands, can afford to build dams, but even so the future costs can be very high. Countries in the developing world cannot afford these short-term solutions, and therefore the risk of conflict caused by land flooding will be the highest in these regions.