Global sea level rise. Earth globe, centred on the Indo-Pacific region, showing the total sea level changes over 27 years between 1992 and 2019, based on satellite data. The colour-coding shows where sea level has gone down (blue) and where it has gone up (orange/red). The range shown is plus/minus 15 centimetres. Since 1992, seas around the world have risen an average of around 15 centimetres. Sea level rises, caused by melting ice caps, climate change and global warming, have devastating effects on low-lying and coastal communities. This data was obtained by the oceanography and ocean surface topography satellites TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, Jason-2 and Jason-3.