Scientists say the oceans are getting warmer, rising faster and losing ice more rapidly due to climate change, according to a recent report by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The IPCC also says the oceans are losing oxygen, which is essential to sea life. The group warns that if global warming continues, the rising sea levels could make some island nations uninhabitable. Hurricanes could be stronger and wetter. And there may be fewer fish to eat. 

Pat Batcheller

“The world’s oceans are warming rapidly. If we don’t make some significant changes, we’re going to see pretty drastic consequences in terms of flooding and loss of marine life,” says Nick Schroeck, an environmental policy expert at University of Detroit Mercy. “That means losses of fish, polar bears and all sorts of other animals that depend on the oceans for their survival.”

The IPCC report found:

• Seas are rising 2.5 times faster than they did from 1900 to 1990.
• The oceans have lost 1 percent to 3 percent of the oxygen in their upper levels since 1970.
• Greenland, Antarctica, and mountain glaciers are losing 720 billion tons of ice every year.
• The world is likely to lose 15 percent of its marine animals by the end of the 21st century.
• The fishing industry may catch nearly 25 percent fewer fish by the end of the century.

“These far-reaching consequences can only be brought under control by acute emissions reductions,” says climate scientist Hans-Otto Portner, one of the study’s co-authors. “We have a better future ahead of us once we make the right choice.”

Click on the player above to hear WDET’s Pat Batcheller speak with environmental policy expert Nick Schroeck, and read a transcript, edited for clarity, below.

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WDET: The loss of fish means less food for a lot of people around the world. What else could happen?

Nick Schroeck, University of Detroit Mercy: One big thing we have to be concerned about is rising sea levels. With a warming climate and warming oceans, we’re seeing rapid melting of sea ice and glaciers that is adding more water to the oceans. That means more flooding and more coastline erosion. We’re already seeing this in California, where a lot of infrastructure has been moved inland.

The report says the seas are rising at a rate of one-seventh of an inch (3.66 millimeters) per year. That seems like a pretty small number. Why is it significant?

If you look at many low-lying areas, island nations are already feeling the brunt of this. Where this becomes a major factor today is when we have big storms such as hurricanes. Storm surges have inundated coastal areas with more flooding. A warmer ocean also means more energy that produces big storms. That means bigger waves, bigger storm surges, and more coastal flooding.

If island nations become uninhabitable, where do all those people go?

Look at what happened in the Bahamas recently [with Hurricane Dorian]. Several islands were very nearly wiped off the map. They were completely flooded. We’re going to see an increasing flow of what we call “climate migrants.” These are people that are going to have to move because either the island nation where they live is no longer habitable, or there are no crops due to increasing drought. There are many people around the world that depend on the oceans as their main supply of food. If that disappears, we’re going to have a lot of hungry people, a lot of people who need shelter, and they’re going to be looking for a safe place to stay. That means a migration crisis as a major impact of climate change. 

Are we doomed to these consequences, or is there still time to do something to limit their impact as the report suggests?

We need to start aggressively reducing the amount of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases that we’re emitting. Some of this heat is already “baked in.” We’re going to continue to see warming oceans. Even if we were to cut all of our emissions today, we would still see warming in the oceans for some time in the future. But, if we can hold global temperature rise on average to 2 degrees Celsius or less, we can avoid some of these catastrophic outcomes, such as inundation of island nations, dramatic flooding and shoreline erosion. We have time to act, but we have to with a lot of intensity and very quickly.