Overview

• The peer-reviewed analysis by Hessel Voortman and Rob de Vos reports an average sea-level rise of about 1.5 mm per year in 2020, below commonly cited 3–4 mm per year rates.
• Roughly 95% of long-record tide-gauge sites examined showed no statistically significant acceleration, and the authors attribute faster local increases mainly to non-climatic, site-specific factors.
• The study compares observations to IPCC location-specific projections and concludes the panel’s central estimates overshoot recorded local rates by about 2 mm per year on average.
• Climate scientists, including experts at KNMI and the UK Met Office, criticize the paper’s limited station coverage and lack of wind, pressure, and land-motion adjustments that can reveal acceleration.
• New satellite-based research published September 6 finds 1990s projections tracked closely with observed global rise and notes a detectable acceleration, echoing NASA findings that the rate has doubled over the past 30 years.