Sea level has changed naturally in the past, mostly due to the growth and melting of large ice sheets during ice ages. During the peak of the last ice age (~20,000 years ago), sea level was ~120 m lower than it is today. Because of global warming that occurred between 20,000 and 10,000 years ago (which was natural and not influenced by humans), the rate of sea level rise was 1.2 cm per year for 10,000 years, until it leveled off to zero. During this span of time, several episodes of extra rapid sea level rise happened. For example, about 14,000 years ago, the rate of sea level rise jumped to about 3 cm per year, because of ice sheet melting. The last time when the climate on earth was similar to today's climate was 120,000 years ago, which is in between ice age episodes. Sea level then was at least 6 m higher than it is today, almost certainly because parts of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets were smaller than they are now.

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