Rising seas, rising health risks Flooding and storm surges associated with sea level rise increase risks for drowning, injury and displacement. ° Increased coastal flooding and storms also raises the risk of indoor mold growth from excess dampness, with impacts on respiratory disease.
Sea level rise can pollute air and endanger drinking water Mildew and mold develop within 48 hours of exposure from flooding and can pose serious health hazards. Inhalation of airborne mold spores can cause respiratory problems, as well as eye and throat irritation and damage to the nervous system.
The two major causes of global sea level rise are thermal expansion caused by warming of the ocean (since water expands as it warms) and increased melting of land-based ice, such as glaciers and ice sheets.
The impacts of climate change include warming temperatures, changes in precipitation, increases in the frequency or intensity of some extreme weather events, and rising sea levels. These impacts threaten our health by affecting the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the weather we experience.
Threats to ocean health pose threats to human wellbeing, especially in developing regions that depend on marine resources as a food source and for tourism and coastal protection. The decline in ocean health caused by acidification and bleaching is resulting in changes to marine food webs.
The ocean absorbs most of the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions, leading to rising ocean temperatures. Increasing ocean temperatures affect marine species and ecosystems. Rising temperatures cause coral bleaching and the loss of breeding grounds for marine fishes and mammals.
Most of the observed sea-level rise (about 3 mm per year) is coming from the meltwater of land-based ice sheets and mountain glaciers, which adds to the ocean's volume (about 2 mm per year combined), and from thermal expansion, or the ocean water's expansion as it warms (roughly 1 mm per year).