Why melting Antarctic ice is making the Atlantic hurricane season worse : Short Wave Ice in Antarctica is melting really quickly because of climate change. That's driving sea level rise around the world, and the water is rising especially fast in the seaside city of Galveston, Texas — thousands of miles from Antarctica. Why do Antarctica and Texas have this counterintuitive relationship? And what does it mean for a $34 billion effort to protect the city from hurricanes?

Read more and see pictures and video from Antarctica here.

Why melting ice in Antarctica is making hurricanes worse in Texas

Why melting ice in Antarctica is making hurricanes worse in Texas

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Some of the fastest sea level rise in the world is happening in Galveston, Texas. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

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Ryan Kellman/NPR

Climate change is causing enormous amounts of ice to melt in West Antarctica. It's a huge driver of sea level rise worldwide.

But the water is rising more quickly in some places than others. Galveston, Texas — thousands of miles away from Antarctica — is experiencing some of the fastest sea level rise in the world.

NPR Climate Correspondent Rebecca Hersher dives into the quest by scientists to understand the mechanics of disintegrating glaciers, often by camping out for weeks on top of ice sheets. And she traces the unexpected connection between that melting ice, and a multi-billion dollar effort to protect Galveston from hurricanes.

You can see photos and video from Antarctica and Galveston here.

This reporting is part of NPR's series Beyond the Poles: The far-reaching dangers of melting ice.

Listen to Short Wave on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

Science in your everyday got you puzzled? Overjoyed? We've love to hear it! Reach us by emailing shortwave@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Liz Metzger and Brit Hanson, edited by Rebecca Ramirez and fact-checked by Rebecca Hersher. Maggie Luthar was the audio engineer.

This episode was produced by Liz Metzger and Brit Hanson, edited by managing producer Rebecca Ramirez, and fact checked by Rebecca Hersher. The audio engineer was Margaret Luthar.