The sea level has risen at a rate of about 3 millimeters per year on average. This information does not come from projections or climate models, but measurements taken by satellites. Scientists have reviewed 18 years of satellite observations to develop a new map showing the trend of expansion of our seas. And the conclusion is that overall the level of the oceans is increasing, albeit with large regional differences.

New data collected by radar altimeters traveling aboard several satellites to Earth observation, showing sea level rise on a regional scale over 10 millimeters per year in places like the Philippine Sea, while in other regions have also been detected decreases of the same order of magnitude as in the Aral Sea. In the Philippines, part of the signal reflects the large fluctuation in the winds and the sea surface temperature across the Pacific Ocean, a phenomenon known as El Niño / La Niña-Southern Oscillation.