Learn Icelandic: Hlýnunin kemur til með að hækka sjávarmálið. - The warming is going to raise the sea level.

While Icelandic often uses the present tense for future events, the phrase koma til með að is used specifically to make predictions about things outside of our direct control. It acts like 'is going to' or 'will' in English and is always followed by an infinitive verb, which is hækka here.

Does hækka mean 'raise' or 'rise'?

It can mean both! Hækka can be transitive (raising something else) or intransitive (rising on its own). Because it is followed by a direct object in the accusative case (sjávarmálið), we know it means 'raise' in this sentence. If you just said 'Sjávarmálið hækkar', it would mean 'The sea level rises'.

Why is the first part of sjávarmálið spelled sjávar- instead of sjór-?

Sjávarmálið is a compound word made of sjór (sea) and mál (measure or level). When nouns are combined to form a new word, the first word often takes the genitive (possessive) case. Sjávar is the genitive form of the highly irregular noun sjór, making the compound literally mean 'the sea's measure'.

How is the word hlýnunin built?