BEIJING - China's coastal regions recorded an annual sea level increase of three millimeters between 1980 and 2014, higher than the world average, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said in its annual report Saturday.

"Rising sea levels along China's coasts have been evident since 1990," said SOA spokesperson Shi Qingfeng.

Experts said the situation was caused by climate change and global warming, which increased the temperature of China's coastal regions.

The accumulated rise of sea levels will cause "aggravated coastal erosion, salt tide, seawater encroachment and soil salinization", according to the SOA report.

Dispelling public worries, SOA official Qu Tanzhou said the speed "was not as bad as people had imagined."

Qu said experts were analyzing the impact of the rise and the possibility of marine disasters.

Shi said the sea level rise should be weighed as a factor in the development of coastal regions.