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THE PACIFIC COMMUNITY
(SPC)
TOPIC: SINKING ISLANDS:THE IMPACT OF SEA LEVEL RISE

TOPIC: SINKING ISLANDS:
THE IMPACT OF SEA LEVEL RISE
Pacific Island nations are slowly sinking away. The rates of sea level rise in the Pacific are approximately 3-5 mm per year, whereas the global average rate is 3 mm per year. Tuvalu, in the western Pacific Ocean, will reportedly be uninhabitable by 2050, while its island neighbour Kiribati, is expected to be fully submerged by 2100. Is expected that 200 million environmental refugees move either within their countries or across borders, on a permanent or temporary basis by 2050. Climate change, the melting of continental ice sheets and the expansion of sea water as ocean temperatures slowly rise are the main reason why islands are fading away. Will we survive? Or will we disappear under the sea?
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