Copernicus image shows a sea level rise of 11.5cm since 1992
Environment News Europe - Here is the Copernicus Image that shows a sea level rise of 11.5cm since 1992. On 29 October 2026, Copernicus Sentinel-6B, the latest Copernicus satellite dedicated to measuring sea level, entered operational service, nearly a year after its launch on 17 November 2025. It joins its twin, Copernicus Sentinel-6A, which has been in orbit since November 2020. Copernicus Sentinel-6B will continue the record of global sea level measurements, which began in 1992.
What is the Sea Level Rise per Decade?
The above image shows how the global mean sea level, the average height of the ocean surface worldwide, has changed since satellite measurements began. Since December 1992, the global average has risen by more than 11.5 cm, at an average rate of 3.4 cm per decade. Two processes mainly drive this increase: melting glaciers and ice sheets, which add water to the ocean, and the expansion of seawater as it warms.
Copernicus Sentinel-6B measures the height of the sea surface across up to 95% of the ice-free ocean every 10 days. Its data will support long-term climate monitoring, improve ocean and weather forecasting, and provide essential information for coastal protection and maritime safety.
The Copernicus Sentinel-6B satellite now tracks rising seas, storms and El Niño:
Copernicus Sentinel-6B entered operational service on 30 October 2026, ensuring that a satellite record of global sea level begun more than 30 years ago will continue into the 2030s. Operated by EUMETSAT on behalf of the European Commission, it will soon become the world’s reference satellite for high-precision ocean altimetry, the benchmark against which other sea-level missions are calibrated.
Weather forecasters use Copernicus Sentinel-6B data on timescales from days to months. Within hours of being collected, they go into the models of weather services, helping to forecast rough seas during Atlantic winter storms and Mediterranean cyclones, and how strong hurricanes will become. The sea-level record also informs seasonal forecasts, including predictions of El Niño and La Niña. A radio occultation instrument on board also adds data on atmospheric temperature and water vapour.
Copernicus uses Sentinel-6B’s observations across its services, including its climate services, which monitor long-term changes in the ocean, and its ocean forecasts. These forecasts help show major currents, and ships will change course depending on where they lie and the direction of the waves. A high-resolution mode on both Sentinel-6 satellites gives detailed measurements near coastlines and over inland waters, supporting safer maritime navigation, coastal protection and water-resource management.
Global average sea level has risen by more than 11.5cm since December 1992, and the pace is accelerating, rising 2.8cm during the first decade and as much as 4.0cm over the most recent decade. The rise is driven by a combination of melting glaciers and ice sheets, and ocean warming which causes water to expand. To track the sea level rise, Sentinel-6B and its twin, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich launched in November 2020, will provide data on sea level across up to 95% of the ice-free ocean, along with ocean currents, wave height and wind speed, and water levels in rivers and lakes.
“No other technology can follow changes in sea level across the whole globe as consistently as satellite altimetry, and its data are essential for both climate research and policy and weather and ocean forecasting. Around 900 million people live in low-lying coastal areas worldwide, and weather and ocean services across our Member States rely on Sentinel-6 data to protect people, infrastructure and ecosystems. Combined with altimetry from Copernicus Sentinel-3, Sentinel-6B gives a fuller picture of the oceans, and with wind and atmospheric data from our Metop satellites it supports weather forecasts every day. This European–US mission shows once again what we can achieve together.” - Phil Evans, Director-General of EUMETSAT.
Copernicus Sentinel-6B is operated by EUMETSAT on behalf of the European Commission, and in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and with the support from the French Space Agency (CNES). Copernicus is the Earth Observation component of the European Union Space Programme.
