Last year’s rate of average global sea level rise was 0.23 inches per year, higher than the expected 0.17 inches per year, NASA found. The rise follows are trend of rapidly increasing rates over the past 30 years.

Last year saw an “unexpected” amount of sea level rise around the world, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said Thursday. An analysis led by the agency found that the rate of rise was nearly a quarter of an inch per year, compared to an expected rate of 0.17 inches.

Global sea levels rose more than expected in 2024, Earth's hottest year on record, according to an analysis released Thursday by the US space agency NASA.

Sea levels rose even higher than anticipated last year, according to an analysis by NASA. Last year was the hottest on record for the planet — largely due to human-caused climate change — leading to a sea-level rise of nearly 0.