This graphic shows rising sea levels (in blue) from data recorded by a series of five satellites starting in 1993. Based on the long-term satellite measurements, the projected rate of sea level rise will hit 0.26 inches (0.66 centimeters) per year by 2050. The annual rate of rise – or how quickly sea level rise is happening – that researchers expect to see has also increased from 0.08 inches (0.20 centimeters) per year in 1993 to 0.17 inches (0.44 centimeters) per year in 2022. Since satellites began observing sea surface height in 1993 with the U.S.-French TOPEX/Poseidon mission, the average global sea level has increased by 3.6 inches (9.1 centimeters), according to NASA’s Sea Level Change science team. That’s the equivalent of adding water from a million Olympic-size swimming pools to the ocean every day for a year and is part of a multidecade trend of rising seas. The average global sea level rose by 0.11 inches (0.27 centimeters) from 2021 to 2022, according to a NASA analysis of satellite data. Knowing where and how much rise is happening can help coastal planners prepare for future hazards.

Observations from space show that the rate of sea level rise is increasing.

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