Which Future Will We Choose?

Climate and energy choices this decade will influence how high sea levels rise for hundreds of years.

Masjid Al-Sultan Muhammad Thakurufaanu Al-Arzam, Malé, Maldives

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MDV__0__Male__Masjid_Al-Sultan_Muhammad_Thakurufaanu_Al-Arzam__L13__3p0C__photorealistic.jpg
If we keep our current carbon path
(3°C global warming)
(3°C warming)
Derivative of Eid Greetings by Nattu under CC BY 2.0
MDV__0__Male__Masjid_Al-Sultan_Muhammad_Thakurufaanu_Al-Arzam__L13__1p5C__photorealistic.jpg
If we sharply cut carbon pollution
(1.5°C global warming)
(1.5°C warming)
Eid Greetings by Nattu under CC BY 2.0
1.5°C3°C

These images show projected future sea levels at Masjid Al-Sultan Muhammad Thakurufaanu Al-Arzam in Malé, Maldives due to human-caused global warming under two different scenarios. Climate and energy choices in the coming few decades could set the destination, but the timing of rise is more difficult to project: these sea levels may take hundreds of years to be fully realized.