Climate security

Study: Antarctica ice melting far faster than predicted

Warmer air, less frigid water and gravity may combine to make parts of Antarctica's western ice sheet melt far faster than scientists had thought, raising sea levels much more than expected by the end of the century, a new study says.

New physics-based computer simulations forecast dramatic increases in melting in the vulnerable western edge of the continent. In a worst-case scenario, that could raise sea levels 46cm to 86cm by 2100 - more than an international panel of climate scientists predicted just three years ago.

Even if countries control heat-trapping gases at the moderate levels pledged in Paris last year, it would still mean seas 8cm to 31cm higher than forecast, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.