What would Earth look like if all the ice melted?

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Many of us have heard about the perils of global warming, but new maps show the shocking effect it could have.

This series of images from National Geographic show what would happen if all the ice completely melted in Greenland, the Antarctic and beyond.

Frankly, it's a terrifying prospect. Britain would be severely affected, with most of London left completely under water. Denmark would mostly disappear beneath the blue as would much of central Europe.

The last time the world was ice-free was around 3.6 million years ago, but environmentalists are warning that rapid climate change is melting ice on the north and south poles at an alarming rate.

The magazine said: “There are more than five million cubic miles of ice on Earth, and some scientists say it would take more than 5,000 years to melt it all.

“If we continue adding carbon to the atmosphere, we’ll very likely create an ice-free planet, with an average temperature of perhaps 80 degrees Fahrenheit instead of the current 58.”