The UN Climate Change Report 2007 at a Glance

Average Temperature, Sea Level and Snow Coverage (10/10)

Temperatures influence sea levels and snow coverage. Since the peak of the last ice age sea levels have risen more than 100 meters. Figures from the IPCC indicate that the annual increase was as low as 0.1 to 0.2 millimetres per year around the end of the 18th century. Sea levels are now rising more than ten times as fast. Most of this change is due to the fact that water increases in volume when temperatures rise. However, scientists fear that sea level rise might be amplified by melting polar caps. Earth’s shrinking snow coverage could also further speed up warming, because water and land reflect less of the sun’s heat than snow and ice (Graphic: IPCC).