Since 1999 satellites have measured the height of the sea surface across the whole ocean, to within a few centimetres. This video shows how much the sea has risen in each place since then, year by year. On average the global sea level rose about 3.8 mm a year between 1999 and 2026, almost 10 cm in total, and the rise is speeding up. The water rises because the ocean warms and expands, and because glaciers and ice sheets melt into it. The rise is not the same everywhere: ocean currents, winds and the uneven warming of the sea pile water up in some regions and less in others. In the North Sea off the Belgian coast the satellite trend is about 4.5 mm a year. The map shows the trend at each point multiplied by the years since 1999. It shows the change of the sea surface itself. On the coast, sinking or rising land adds to or subtracts from this.
Source: Data: E.U. Copernicus Marine Service, global mean sea level and map of sea level trends from satellite altimetry (DUACS DT2024, 1999 to 2026), corrected for glacial isostatic adjustment. Visualisation by The Moving Sea
Free for personal and educational use with credit to The Moving Sea. For commercial use, contact [email protected].