Why Melting Ice In Antarctica Is A Big Problem For Coastal Texas
Galveston, Texas, has some of the fastest sea level rise in the world. To protect the city, engineers need to know how fast ice in West Antarctica will melt. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption
As Earth's climate warms, more ice is melting near the poles. And that is a huge driver of sea level rise around the globe. But some coastal communities are threatened by this more than others.
Places like the Gulf coast of Texas, for example, are feeling the impact of melting ice in West Antarctica, thousands of miles away.
NPR Climate Correspondent Rebecca Hersher traveled to Galveston, Texas, to see how that ice melt is affecting sea levels there and what experts are doing to prepare.
This reporting is part of NPR's Beyond the Poles: The far-reaching dangers of melting ice series.
In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
This episode was produced by Erika Ryan with engineering from Maggie Luthar. It was edited by Neela Banerjee, Sadie Babits, and William Troop. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.