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<p>Sea level will rise in response to the expansion of the warming oceans and from
melting land ice. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 5th Assessment Report
notes that for a climate change scenario consistent with remaining below 2°C, global
mean sea level rise is likely to be between 0.26 to 0.55 m for the period 2081–2100,
compared to 1986–2005. The top of this range could be higher should the marine-based
ice sheets in Antarctica collapse, increasing by up to several tenths of a metre.
Sea level rise will continue beyond the 21<sup>st</sup> century in this scenario even
though global temperatures stabilise, with at least a further 0.5 m expected by 2500.</p><p>The
future contribution from ice sheets remains very uncertain. There is a risk their
melting could result in considerable sea level rise in the longer term.</p><p>The
UK government is funding research into future sea level rise and its impacts through
the DECC and Defra co-funded Met Office Hadley Centre Climate Programme, and through
the DECC funded AVOID programme.</p>
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