Global seas could rise nearly twice as much as previous, widely accepted estimates, according to a study saying low-lying cities face possible disaster by the end ofthe century.

Sea levels could surge more than 900cm by 2100 from melting Antarctic ice alone, on top of a 900cm rise already predicted, said the study by two American researchers that appeared in the science journal Nature. That same Antarctic ice melt could add nearly 15 metres of sea-level rise by the year 2500, it said.

The earlier, commonly accepted prediction was made by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2013 estimating global sea levels rising more than 900cm by 2100.

“This could spell disaster for many low-lying cities,” said co-author Robert DeConto, professor of geosciences at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, in a statement.

Boston, for example, could see about 1.5 metres of sea level at the end of the century, he said.

Other low-lying cities often cited as being in jeopardy of rising sea levels include London, New York, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Sydney, Australia and Venice, Italy.

Moroever, the findings should sound an alarm bell for more greenhouse gas emission cuts, said co-author David Pollard, a senior scientist at Pennsylvania State University’s Earth and Environmental Systems Institute.

While the findings are “worst-case” possibilities, they “should be considered seriously,” he said.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.