THERE IS A LOT OF DEBATE about how long these islands have and which are in the most danger due to climate change.
Whether they vanish in this lifetime or stay with us for another few centuries is anyone’s guess, but one thing is clear: With the onset of rising sea levels and warming temperatures, many low-lying islands face challenges they have never faced before.
Some island nations have already begun relocation efforts for their people, including some of those pictured below.
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Located 400 kilometers southwest of India, this island chain has an average elevation of 1.5 meters, making it the lowest-lying country in the world.
With a population of about 5,000, this Bengali island is located in the Sundarban Delta of India. According to Research Journal of Recent Sciences, it lost half its area between 1972 and 2010.
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This country of 33 islands is located in the Pacific between Hawaii and Australia. One of the world’s most vulnerable nations to climate change, its government is searching for a place to move its 103,000 inhabitants.
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Situated 4.5 meters above sea level, this Polynesian nation is the fourth smallest country in the world. “Unless urgent actions are done against climate change in 50 years’ time, the world will just come and collect our bodies from the sea,” says one Tuvalu citizen in the documentary film King Tide.
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This remote island, part of the Cook Islands in the South Pacific, has a population of 62 inhabitants.
Ghizo is part of the sovereign nation of the Solomon Islands, a chain of remote islands located east of Papua New Guinea. Ghizo is 11km long and 5km wide.
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Averaging two meters above sea level, this island country is made up of 29 atolls and coral reefs and has a population of more than 68,000 people.
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Can you see the house in the photo? The Australian island of Boigu is one of the lowest-lying of the Torres Strait Islands, located six kilometers from the mainland of Papua New Guinea. It is home to about 260 indigenous people. In February 2014, the Australian Government said it would put $26.2 million toward seawalls for the Torres Strait Islands.
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This is Fiji’s second biggest island. According to government official Alipate Bolalevu, more than 600 villages across Fiji have been identified as threatened by rising sea levels.
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Ownership of these islands has long been disputed between China and Vietnam. Made up of islets, sandbanks, and reefs, the highest point is 14 meters, making the islands vulnerable to climate change.
Part of the Carteret Islands of Papua New Guinea, this island has already been bisected by the ocean.
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In the remote Cook Islands north of Rarotonga, Aitutaki has a population of just over 2,000 and is well visited by tourists who make it to this part of the South Pacific. Its 123-meter summit won’t be disappearing anytime soon, but unfortunately its inhabitants depend on land area that is much closer to the sea.
Located northwest of Australia, these islands have 75km of shoreline. The Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve protects a diverse range of marine life, including endemic species of sea snakes and mollusks.
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Part of the Seychelles, the Aldabra Group has four main islands. One is Aldabra, the world’s second largest coral atoll, with an elevation of eight meters. It is designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and home to the Aldabra Giant Tortoise.
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Bermuda is a British Territory of low-lying islands in the Atlantic Ocean, which face a number of environmental challenges.