What are sea levels?

Sea levels are like the height of water in a big bathtub, but instead of a bathtub, it's our whole Earth.

Imagine you're filling up a bucket with water from the tap. The more water you add, the higher the level gets. That’s kind of what happens with sea levels, they go up when there's more water in the ocean, and down when there's less.

Think about a sponge that’s wet and squishy. If you squeeze it, water comes out. Now imagine the Earth is like that sponge. When things get hotter, ice on the poles melts, just like how a wet sponge gets squeezed. That melted water flows into the ocean, making the sea level rise, like when you add more water to your bucket.

Sometimes it’s not just about adding water. If the Earth cools down and ice forms again, some water turns back into ice, kind of like when you put a wet sponge in the fridge. That can make sea levels go down.

So sea levels are just telling us how high or low the ocean is, like a little ruler for our big planet! Sea levels are like the height of water in a big bathtub, but instead of a bathtub, it's our whole Earth.

Imagine you're filling up a bucket with water from the tap. The more water you add, the higher the level gets. That’s kind of what happens with sea levels, they go up when there's more water in the ocean, and down when there's less.