Solomon Islands

Flickr/les_butcher

Solomon Islands

As the climate warms, sea ice and the ice sheets in Greenland and the Antarctic continue to melt. These and other factors lead to increases in sea level and further warming of the Earth. Climate change will manifest in many many ways, including changes in weather patterns and more extreme weather events. 

For some, though, rising sea levels may leave them underwater, Michael Mann said in an interview with The Guardian earlier this month.

See the disappearing islands >

According to the EPA, global sea level has risen by eight inches since 1870. This change is already affecting many low lying islands that have had to adapt. Some populations are moving to higher areas, or are trying to buy land from other countries to migrate its citizens, and some have even developed new ways of farming to protect their agriculture.

2007 estimates from the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change's most conservative estimates suggest that global sea level will reach increase 8 to 16 inches above 1990 levels by 2090. The National Academy of Sciences predictions from 2009 suggest that by 2100, sea level could increase by anywhere from 16 inches to 56 inches, depending how the Earth responds to changing climate.

See the islands and how they are coping with rising sea levels.

See the disappearing islands >