Photograph: Tommy Trenchard/Panos Pictures. Retrieved from economist.com
Standing on the shores of Nyangai, a small island off the coast of Sierra Leone, Melvin Kargbo points to his old football field, now below an expanse of seawater. Never large, Nyangai has shrunk from around 700 metres in length a decade ago to about 90 metres now.
Most of its mango and coconut trees have been felled by the waves. The remaining residents live in a tight cluster of houses that flood frequently. Even so, they want to stay put.
“We cannot leave this land,” says Mr Kargbo, a 35-year-old teacher. “I do not think there is a better life for us anywhere else.”
He will probably be forced to find one. Global sea levels are rising as glaciers melt in the warming climate. Storms are becoming more erratic, accelerating coastal erosion. Some 15 years from now, Nyangai is likely to be under water.