Safeguards around ‘Doomsday Glacier’ could collapse within 5 years, scientists warn

(CNN) – Scientists are warning that the world could be looking at trouble from the so-called “Doomsday Glacier” in a few years.

Researchers reviewed satellite images of the ice shelves safeguarding the Thwaites glacier in Antarctica.

The glacier is the size of Florida and is the widest one in the world. Scientists are seeing fracturing in the ice sheets surrounding it.

They fear the sheets could shatter in the next three to five years, which would pose the biggest threat for sea-level rise this century.

The glacier itself holds enough water to raise sea levels by over 2 feet. The level jumps by 10 feet if it takes the surrounding glaciers with it.

Researchers say this kind of rise in sea levels would put coastal communities and low-lying island nations at risk.

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