Dutch sea level rising 3mm per year, the most in at least 130 years

Dutch sea levels have been rising three millimeters per year for the past several decades, a sharp increase that is due to climate change, according to a study by the Dutch meteorological institute KNMI.

Growing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere cause global warming, which in turn melts land ice. Since warm ocean water takes up more volume, the average sea level is rising around the world. However, it previously seemed that the sea level along Dutch coasts was rising less quickly than the global average.

The KNMI study explains it can be difficult to measure sea level rise, because ocean currents, storms and wind can push seawater against the coast and cause variation in sea level measurements.

The study removed long-term variations from wind and tides to show that Dutch sea levels have actually been rising rapidly over the past few decades, in a pattern similar to the global average. The rate of rise is now the highest since the sea level measurements started in 1890.