Scientists have warned that more than half of the ice shelves in Antarctica could collapse by 2300, causing an irreversible 32-feet rise in sea level.
Researchers from the Sorbonne University in Paris have predicted that 59 per cent of ice shelves can collapse and the sea level rise could potentially submerge many well-known cities and towns across the globe.
In just the next 275 years, Hull, Glasgow and Bristol in the United Kingdom, and Houston, New Orleans and Miami in the United States could drown under water.
The study, published in Nature, warns that if the greenhouse gas emissions continue increasing, the phenomenon of global warming could turn what seems like a science-fiction scenario into a devastating reality.
Researchers explained that viability of ice shelves is directly linked to greenhouse gas emissions, adding, “the thinning and eventual collapse of ice shelves in Artarctica increases the rate at which ice discharges into the ocean.”
Experts conducted a simulation to analyse the scenarios under different levels of emissions.
The results revealed that if global warming is kept below 2C by 2300, only 64 ice shelves would be on the list.
But if global temperatures rise by 12C by 2300, nearly 59 per cent of the ice shelves could collapse thus resulting in 32-feet rise in sea level.