UK's mountains could be reduced to hills, thanks to rising sea levels!

(Image for representational purposes only)

New Delhi: Climate change has slowly become a cause of increasing concern. Its impact is wreaking havoc over the planet and there are many among the world's population who still feign ignorance at this morbid facet of truth.

The world's climate is constantly changing and its predictions are becoming more and more unstable. This unpredictable nature will probably become more stubborn in the future and that has got scientists worried.

One of the most worrying impact of the phenomenon is the rising sea levels. Why? As per a report in Live Science, the rising sea levels could soon reduce the majestic mountains of the United Kingdom to mere hills.

Those in greatest danger of demotion include a peak in the Yorkshire Dales that was only reclassified as a mountain a few weeks ago.

According to the report, the Ordnance Survey (OS) uses mean sea level as the starting point for measuring the absolute height of mountains, which must be a at least 609.6 metres (2,000ft) above sea level – but several peaks in England, Scotland and Wales are only a few centimetres taller than that.

The OS reveals that sea levels have risen and are continuing to rise at an accelerating rate, mainly through climate change.

Live Science quoted an OS spokesperson saying that, “We have to measure from a fixed point, and there are no immediate proposals for a change, but rising sea levels could obviously be a factor if there is a change in the future. Clearly if the fixed point was taken from a higher level, the heights measured would drop by the same amount, and that certainly could affect many hills and mountains.”

A change could affect the status of many sites cherished by walkers who like to tackle all the mountains in a group, including the Munros in Scotland, which are all over 914 metres (3,000ft), the slightly less challenging 762-metre (2,500ft) Corbetts, and the Hewitts, Nuttalls and Deweys in England and Wales, Live Science reported.