--- title: Climate Change: Antarctica Glacier Ice Melt May Be Worse description: Melting ice from one of Antarctica's largest glaciers due to climate change could raise global sea levels by more than 2 meters (6.6 feet) canonical: https://time.com/4340269/antarctica-climate-change-ice-melt/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-18T19:54:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:38:31.575Z article:section: Science og:title: Climate Change: Antarctica Glacier Ice Melt May Be Worse og:description: Melting ice from one of Antarctica's largest glaciers due to climate change could raise global sea levels by more than 2 meters (6.6 feet) og:url: https://time.com/4340269/antarctica-climate-change-ice-melt/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte9080602d7254068/698893c0524fc070cfdf80d8/antarctica-glacier-melt.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: antarctica glacier melt og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Climate Change: Antarctica Glacier Ice Melt May Be Worse twitter:description: Melting ice from one of Antarctica's largest glaciers due to climate change could raise global sea levels by more than 2 meters (6.6 feet) twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte9080602d7254068/698893c0524fc070cfdf80d8/antarctica-glacier-melt.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Antarctic Ice Melt May Be Worse Than Scientists Thought ## Video: Clouds Aren't Helping Climate Control [Watch (HLS stream): Clouds Aren't Helping Climate Control](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vkWnDZv3.m3u8) (1:00)  _Published 2016-04-08. Know Right Now: Clouds Aren't Helping Climate Control_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent May 18, 2016 7:54 PM UTC  Antarctica, Petermann Island, Icicles hang from melting iceberg near Lemaire Channel Antarctica, Petermann Island, Icicles hang from melting iceberg near Lemaire ChannelPaul Souders\_Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent May 18, 2016 7:54 PM UTC Melting ice from one of Antarctica’s largest glaciers due to climate change could raise [global sea levels](http://time.com/4257194/sea-level-rise-climate-change-miami/) by more than 2 meters (6.6 feet), according to new [research](http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/nature17447). The study, published in the journal _Nature_, relies on data on past ice levels of the Totten Glacier in East Antarctica to evaluate the rate of melting. Without intense efforts to stem man-made global warming, the glacier’s melting process could cross the point of no return within the next 100 years, according to report. The result would add more than 6.6 feet (2 meters) of sea level rise over the coming several centuries, in addition to several feet of rise from other sources. “The evidence coming together is painting a picture of East Antarctica being much more vulnerable to a warming environment than we thought,” said study author Martin Siegert, an Imperial College London researcher, in a press release. “This is something we should worry about.” **Read More**: [See How Your City May Be Affected by Rising Sea Levels](http://time.com/4257194/sea-level-rise-climate-change-miami/) The contribution of ice melt to sea level rise is the topic of frequent attention from academic researchers, but [most studies](http://time.com/4277148/antarctica-sea-level-rise/) of Antarctica has focused on the more vulnerable western part of the continent. [Another study](http://time.com/4277148/antarctica-sea-level-rise/) published in _Nature_ this year shows that global sea levels may rise 3.5 feet (1.1 meters) by the end of this century and 40 feet (13 meters) by 2500 without action. Sea levels rose more than five inches during the 20th century, faster than any time in the previous 2,800 years, according to recent [research](http://time.com/4234290/sea-level-rise-preparation/). And, while a few inches—or even a few feet—may not sound substantial, higher sea levels will contribute to increased flooding during storms and at high tide far before they completely sink the world’s many coastal cities. The world’s leading emitters have all committed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in an attempt to slow man-made global warming, but a slew of recent research has led many to wonder whether [meeting the goal](http://time.com/4146764/paris-agreement-climate-cop-21/) of keeping temperatures from rising more than 2°C (3.6°F) by 2100 will be [too little too late](http://time.com/4261719/february-heat-records-climate-change/). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4340269/antarctica-climate-change-ice-melt/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4340269/antarctica-climate-change-ice-melt/"},"headline":"Antarctic Ice Melt May Be Worse Than Scientists Thought","datePublished":"2016-05-18T19:54:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:38:31.575Z","description":"'This is something we should worry about'","url":"https://time.com/4340269/antarctica-climate-change-ice-melt/","keywords":["climate change"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte9080602d7254068/698893c0524fc070cfdf80d8/antarctica-glacier-melt.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte9080602d7254068/698893c0524fc070cfdf80d8/antarctica-glacier-melt.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"antarctica glacier melt","caption":"antarctica glacier melt","creditText":"Paul Souders_Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/climate-change/","name":"climate change"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4340269/antarctica-climate-change-ice-melt/","name":"Antarctic Ice Melt May Be Worse Than Scientists Thought"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Clouds Aren't Helping Climate Control","description":"Know Right Now: Clouds Aren't Helping Climate Control","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/vkWnDZv3/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-04-08T21:12:59.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vkWnDZv3.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4340269/antarctica-climate-change-ice-melt/","duration":"PT1M","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4340269/antarctica-climate-change-ice-melt/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```