How come sea levels are rising faster in some places than others?

As our oceans warm due to climate change, sea levels are rising. It ought to be straightforward – as water gets warmer, it increases in volume.

All the world’s oceans are connected, so how come sea levels are rising at different rates around the world, and even falling in some places? CrowdScience listener Alison in Australia wants to know the science behind the mystery.

Presenter Anand Jagatia travels to the Philippines to investigate. The country is being particularly affected by the issue, with its more than 7,500 islands experiencing sea level rises that are double the global average.

On Palawan Island, in the east of the country, he speaks to people whose homes and livelihoods are being put at risk by rising waters.

He also visits the Philippine Coast Guard in Manila and speaks to Commander James Barandino, from their Marine Environmental Protection division, to hear how their work is being affected by sea level rises and the flooding it causes.

Dr Charina Lyn Repollo from the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute shows Anand how they monitor sea levels at dozens of locations. Their data shows huge variations in sea level across the country. How can that be the case?

Anand also speaks to Jonathan Bamber, Professor of Earth Observation and Glaciology at the University of Bristol in the UK, to unpick the science behind how sea levels can rise at different rates in different places.

And how do we protect people from rising waters? Dr Rodel Diaz Lasco from the Oscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management in Manila, explains how global collaboration might hold the key.

Presenter: Anand Jagatia

Producer: Dan Welsh

Editor: Ben Motley

(Photo: Globe floating on water - stock photo- Credit: Jan Hakan Dahlstrom via Getty Images)