Photo: James Lewis TCAP Coastal Engineer. Retrieved from undp.org
In the Pacific Island country of Tuvalu, the sea level has been quietly creeping upwards for years. By 2050, it is estimated that half the capital, Fogafale, will be flooded by tidal waters. With climate change posing a risk to infrastructure, food security and energy supply, 95 percent of land is projected to be flooded by routine high tides by 2100 if no action is taken.
With the threat of sea level rise climbing at unprecedented rates –not just in Tuvalu, but in all island nations– the implications seep into everything: from contaminated fresh groundwater, to hampered food crop cultivation to loss of woodland vegetation and soils, resulting in uninhabitable land.
Yet despite these risks, for many years data about exactly how sea level rise is affecting islands like Tuvalu has been lacking. And without understanding the timelines and scale of the problem, it’s hard to design the right solution.