The oceans do not change their level because of lots of rain. Rain is part of the water system that circulates between land, sea, and sky, and the total amount of water does not change. However, this does not apply when it comes to the melting of ice on land and snow that has accumulated over time. Both are new inputs to the water system.

episode 5 As we mentioned in Episode 5, the approximately 2-million-year-old glaciers in the European Alps disappeared in just two weeks in the summer of 2019. Ice and snow in the Arctic landmasses of Greenland and Alaska are also melting. In Antarctica, glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula, the lowest latitude, continue to melt. As they flow into the ocean, the volume of seawater increases, and the water level rises. We also know that seawater temperatures are rising due to global warming, and water increases in volume as its temperature rises. Put simply, the amount of water in the oceans is expanding

In 2019, Venice, Italy's water capital, suffered its second-highest tides in recorded history, with the areas at lower elevations, such as St. Mark's Square, suffering severe damage. The mayor of Venice, claiming that climate change due to global warming caused the flooding, urged the government to take action as soon as possible, saying that the city will sink if the situation continues as it is.

Tuvalu, an island nation in the South Pacific, is a chain of coral reef islands, the highest point of which is only 5 meters above sea level. Tide levels here have been rising year after year, and especially in recent years, with the average global sea level rising at a rate of 4.3 mm, compared to an average 1.2 to 2.2 mm for the rest of the world. Tuvalu is more densely populated than Japan, and people live in close proximity to each other on these small islands. In 2003, a tidal wave hit the island, washing the island with sea water, damaging not only the places where people live, but also their farms and leaving the country with food shortfalls. Even though the people of this country emit very little carbon dioxide, they are about to be deprived of both their homes and their farms.

episode 8
Cities and Countries are Sinking