Guterres Warns Accelerating Sea-level Rise Threatens Hundreds of Millions Worldwide
Sumaira FH | Published September 25, 2026 | 02:15 AM
NEW YORK, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 25th Sep, 2026) UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Thursday that accelerating sea-level rise is putting coastal cities, communities and economies at growing risk, noting that around 770 million people live in coastal areas less than five metres above the high-tide line.
Addressing the UN General Assembly's High-Level Meeting on Sea-Level Rise, Guterres stated that global mean sea level rose by nearly six millimetres in 2024, marking the largest annual increase ever recorded, and expressed concern that the pace is accelerating.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), even under the most favorable scenario, sea levels are projected to rise by up to half a metre by the end of the century, while without drastic emissions reductions, the rise could reach one metre.
Guterres characterized sea-level rise as a “threat multiplier”, impacting economies, trade, infrastructure and food systems, erasing cultural heritage and identity, fueling instability, and threatening the territorial integrity of some states. He called for urgent action to tackle the root causes of the climate crisis, including:
- Limiting the 1.5°C temperature overshoot
- Rapidly cutting global emissions
- Tripling renewable energy capacity
- Improving energy efficiency
- Accelerating a just transition away from fossil fuels.
The UN reports that the rate of global mean sea-level rise increased from 2.1 millimeters per year in 1993–2002 to 4.7 millimeters per year in 2015–2024, with rising seas increasingly exposing communities and economies to coastal flooding, erosion, saltwater intrusion, and the loss of ecosystems and biodiversity.