California is known as a place where dreams come true. However, despite its beautiful scenery, the state faces serious threats from wildfires, droughts, and other unpredictable natural events.
Floods and the slow melting of glaciers add to these challenges. Thinking about what California might look like if all the ice on Earth melted is a powerful way to understand these environmental issues.
California’s lowest point is 282 feet below sea level, which puts some areas at high risk of flooding.
Thwaites Glacier
Let’s start with a big problem in the Western Hemisphere.
Antarctica is changing a lot. The Thwaites Glacier, which is as big as Florida, is breaking apart because the water around it is getting warmer. Melting ice caps are making high places around the world less safe. If temperatures keep rising, the Thwaites Glacier could melt enough to raise global sea levels by 10 feet.
A 10-foot rise in sea levels would cause major flooding in parts of Los Angeles, like Santa Monica and Long Beach.
Many other areas along California’s wealthy coast are also in danger. Cities such as San Francisco, San Rafael, Richmond, Oakland, and Sacramento would face big economic problems trying to stay above water.
This would create a tough situation for Californians, forcing many to move and become climate refugees looking for new homes.
What if all the ice melted?
Antarctica and Greenland together have more than 6 million square miles of ice in their ice sheets and glaciers, an area almost as big as Russia. Plus, there are other glaciers around the world, making up about 12.5% of Earth’s land covered by ice.
What would happen if all that ice melted? First, it’s important to understand that glaciers and ice sheets are not like ice cubes in your drink, as NASA explains. When the ice in your drink melts, it doesn’t make the liquid level go up. But when glaciers melt, it’s like adding more ice to a full glass of water, causing it to overflow.
Now, imagine the results. If all the ice on Earth melted, National Geographic estimates sea levels would rise by a shocking 216 feet.
Think about what this would mean for California. A current satellite image shows the state as it is now, with sea levels below the land.
But if sea levels rose by 200 feet, the picture would look very different. This drastic change would transform California’s coastal areas completely.