An interactive map, produced by National Geographic in 2013 shows what the world would look like if all the ice melted and ran into the sea.
Ireland, for a start, would be considerably more waterlogged.
Calculations indicating that the sea-level would rise by 66 meters mean that much of the west of Ireland would be lost to the Atlantic Ocean. Two-thirds of the region of Connacht would be submerged.
National Geographic states “There are more than five million cubic miles of ice on Earth, and some scientists say it would take more than 5,000 years to melt it all. If we continue adding carbon to the atmosphere, we’ll very likely create an ice-free planet, with an average temperature of perhaps 80 degrees Fahrenheit instead of the current 58.”
Throughout the rest of Europe their maps show similar devastation. In the United Kingdom, London would be enveloped by the River Thames and the English Channel. Venice, Italy would disappear, while the Mediterranean and the Caspian Sea would swamp various nations' coastlines.
As for North America “The entire Atlantic seaboard would vanish, along with Florida and the Gulf Coast. In California, San Francisco’s hills would become a cluster of islands and the Central Valley a giant bay. The Gulf of California would stretch north past the latitude of San Diego – not that there’d be a San Diego.”
The areas worst affected would be in Asia where Bangladesh and a huge swathe of China would sink into the sea.
Evan Burgess, a PhD in Geography and glacial expert, living in Alaska told KSL.com "Each year Alaska is losing about 50 cubic kilometers of ice.
“Each year Alaska is losing about 50 cubic kilometers of ice. ...That's (the equivalent of) about three full Great Salt Lakes draining out of these mountains every single year," he said. "So, that's a lot of ice going into the oceans."
For the full interactive map click here.
*Originally published 2013.
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