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When warming becomes a warning, we need to listen

9.65 million square miles

Melting sea ice

Throughout the year, Sea ice in polar regions — covering an average of two-and-a-half times the area of Canada — enables the production of algae that supports the Arctic food web. The ice offers refuge for migrating seabirds, hunting grounds for seals, polar bears, and other important species, and grazing depots for krill and fish. Increased carbon emissions from human activity is causing Earth’s atmosphere to warm, melting polar ice and adversely affecting these vital habitats. Sea ice gains thickness during winter and melts partially during the summer and autumn; with the climate warming at its current rate, the Arctic Ocean may be ice-free during the summer, leaving coastal communities exposed to storms.

4 feet higher oceans

Rising sea-levels

When water warms and ice melts, the sea-level goes up – jeopardizing communities, habitats and species from the Arctic to the Pacific islands and beyond. By the end of the century, sea levels could rise by up to 4 feet due to thermal expansion — seawater expands as it warms — and the increased meltwater from glaciers and continental ice caps. The 1.1°C rise in sea-surface temperature expected by 2025 will only accelerate the melting of ice caps.

634 million people threatened

Vulnerable communities

Climate change is a global issue – but the world’s low-lying regions face the most urgent threats to their livelihood. New water from melting ice combined with the expansion of warmer water is triggering the rapid rise of sea levels, leaving island nations and coastal communities prone to shoreline erosion, flooding and violent storms. These coastal populations — almost twice the population of the United States — contribute the least to climate change but are affected the most. Citizens of the Pacific island nation of Kiribati are among the world’s first refugees displaced due to sea-level rise; up to 30 percent of the country’s mangroves may be lost by 2100.

Understanding the planet’s ice — before it’s too late

Conservation International is working harder than ever to understand, mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change, including sea-level rise caused in part by Earth’s melting ice. Through science, policy and partnerships, we identify and inform policies to protect local environments and ensure the well-being of affected populations.

Melting ice a ticking time bomb for islands

Tarawa is a sliver of land bent like a sickle against the blue flat sheen of tropical ocean that seems to stretch forever in all directions. There is no naturally formed ice within thousands of miles. Yet in this capital city of the Republic of Kiribati, ice will have much to do with the survival...

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© CI/Greg Stone
The Coral Triangle Initiative

The Coral Triangle Initiative is an agreement forged between the governments of the Coral Triangle to work together to combat unsustainable fishing, rapid population growth and the effects of climate change.

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© World Wildlife Fund, Inc. / Matthew Abbott
Antarctica’s health matters

Two years ago, the Ocean Health Index released its first assessment of the health of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. The results show that distance, fierce winds, bitter cold, the raging seas and plenty of ice have managed to diminish the human impact on the inaccessible Southern Ocean.

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© Levi S. Norton

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