Global warming will probably melt all the ice on Earth and raise the sea level in the future. This situation would bring some changes to the existing continents.
Climate change and global warming are now the two most common terms often used by the climatologists. But, the million dollar question is if this warming will eventually melt the entire ice on Earth, then what will be the ultimate outcome. It is a common perception that once all the ice on Earth is melted and added to the oceans, then the sea level would rise.
According to National Geographic, the sea level will rise by 216 feet compared to the current existing level. Recent estimation unveils the existence of five million cubic miles of ice on Earth. Scientists opine that at least 5000 years will be needed to melt it all. But, the increasing rate of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere will soon create a planet that must be ice free.
It is quite clear that humans will adapt to a very different world as the ice melts and the oceans rise, according to Forbes. Major climate change will alter the seasonal rainfall. Even the fertile land will become infertile. It seems that the Earth would face a set of new alterations due to the rise of the sea level.
The temperature of the atmosphere on Earth at that time most probably will be 80 degrees Fahrenheit, a huge increment from the current 58 degrees. Now when the sea level will rise by 216 feet, then some obvious changes must be visible. It can be possible that the world will get new coastlines. Even the continents may have new shorelines.
Currently, seven continents are covering the whole world. National Geographic has given some probable changes if global warming will eventually melt the entire ice on Earth and raise the sea level. Possibly North America would lose the whole Atlantic seaboard, along with Gulf Coast and Florida. The hills of San Francisco would acquire the shape of a cluster of the islands, and the Central Valley would become a giant bay.
In a word, the melting of the ice on Earth would give a new look to North America. Now South America will also face some probably important changes due to the rise of the sea level. The existing Amazon Basin and the Paraguay River Basin both would become the Atlantic outlets. So there would be some massive changes in the north and in the south portion of the said continent.
Africa will face fewer changes due to the sea-level catastrophe compared to other continents. But, the Earth's increasing temperature could make a major portion of the continent uninhabitable. Cairo and the Alexandria in Egypt will probably be swamped due to the intruding Mediterranean.
Europe will face a series of severe changes. The Adriatic Sea will reclaim Venice and London will exist in memory. Even the Netherlands and a major part of Denmark will be covered by the sea. That means the rise of the sea level will affect this continent largely and the Earth will be the sole witness of these changes.
China, Bangladesh and coastal parts of India would face a severe flood because of the sea-level catastrophe. The Mekong Delta will also be a victim of this situation and the inundation would leave the Cardamom Mountains of Cambodia stranded like an island. That means Asia, largest continent of the Earth, will also probably can't avoid some major outcome in the future.
Australia would lose a portion of the coastal strip, but the continent would experience a new inland sea. Now the East Antarctica holds a bigger portion of all the existing ice on Earth, almost four-fifths. So it is quite normal that this large ice sheet on will take some time to melt completely. Though the ice sheets of the West Antarctica will be highly affected by the global warming and it will increase the sea level.
