Small island states in the Pacific are responsible for of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, and yet the millions of people who live here are experiencing some of the earliest and most severe consequences. For them, climate change is an undeniable existential threat to their homeland, their culture, and their livelihoods.The image of a sinking island has become a potent symbol for climate change in the tropics, and as sea levels here than anywhere else in the word, most research predicts these low-lying islands will be submerged by the end of the century.But there are other threats that could come a whole lot sooner. Initial that as sea levels rise, some islands might run out of freshwater long before they run out of land.Even now, on most developing islands in the Pacific, freshwater is already an imperilled resource. On many populated atolls, the primary source is rain that's soaked into the soil and.Yet as sea levels continue to rise and flooding becomes more frequent, the ground on these islands might also begin to absorb seawater.

And if subsequent rainfall doesn't flush all that salt out of the island's aquifer, it will likely become contaminated. This disaster scenario could deprive entire isolated islands of their sole source of drinking water, forcing residents to rely on rainfall and shipments alone.' While the popular press has focused on the threat of inundation of island coastal areas by rising sea levels, perhaps the most critical near- and long-term threat to these nations is the possible impacts of climate change on freshwater quality and availability,' a paper from 2002.Last month, a group of Pacific island nations - including Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Timor Leste and Tonga - came together to their situation a climate crisis and demand major emitters around the world do something about it. As early as 2030, they say, their lands could become uninhabitable.That's really soon. While a Pentagon-commissioned from 2018 suggests that's a real possibility, it's also a worst-case scenario. A more optimistic prediction from the same research suggests such dire circumstances will arrive mid-century.Either way, it means that many children growing up in the Pacific today will live to see a time when their homeland can no longer sustain them. 'As much as possible, we must try to adapt and mitigate in situ because that's where people have their homes, land and livelihoods,' ActionAid global climate change lead Harjeet Singh at a recent United Nations climate event in Bangkok.'

But more places are becoming uninhabitable because of land degradation, rising sea levels or other weather impacts, and there is no choice but to relocate.' The threat to Pacific islander freshwater supplies has also been neglected in research. To date, very few studies have examined how sea level rise and wave action drive flooding on Pacific islands, or how this flooding might affect freshwater supplies.Last year's Pentagon-commissioned is one of the few of its kind. Shortest trip to earth wiki.

Based on current emissions and mid-range scenarios, it suggests that most atolls in the Pacific will be uninhabitable by the mid-century.The loss of these lands, the authors argue, will ultimately come from sea-level rise, exacerbated by frequent wave-driven flooding. Not only will this dangerous combo deliver repetitive damage to rainfall collection systems, they say, it will also stop groundwater aquifers from fully recovering.' Island inhabitants will therefore be unable to rely on groundwater, in many cases the sole source of fresh water, as a source of potable water in the next few decades,' the authors, 'and thus, the islands will be uninhabitable by the middle of the 21st century - not by the end of the 21st century or the middle of the 22nd century as previously suggested.' Hilda Heine, the president of the Marshall Islands, The Washington Post last year that this paper 'brings home the seriousness' of her island nation's future.

'It's a scary scenario for us,' she said.But there's still time to adapt and act. Earlier this month, at the UN Climate Change gathering in Bangkok, climate experts small islands and coastal cities in the Asia-Pacific need more funds to assist their vulnerable communities to either relocate or stay and defend.If the world doesn't come together and adequately prepare for these changes, thousands of islands could soon be uninhabitable and many more people will find themselves displaced.'

We don't have the luxury of more land or mountains to move to,' Angeline Heine, the national energy planner in the Marshall Islands, at the UN climate talks.' We are just focused on our survival, and wondering whether we will still be here 30 to 40 years from now.' This article is part of ScienceAlert's special climate edition, published on 20 September 2019.

Eight low-lying Pacific islands swallowed whole by rising seas. “These are the first places on Earth to experience really high rates of sea level rise, so they give great insights into what.

.Two uninhabited islands in South Sumatra have vanished, and four are on the brink, thanks to rising sea levels.The Forum for the Environment (Walhi) says Betet Island and Gundul Island are now completely submerged because of climate change and are sitting one and three metres below sea level, respectively.“These islands were uninhabited. One of the islands, Betet, is a part of Berbak-Sembilang National Park,” Walhi South Sumatra executive director Hairul Sobri said in a statement on Jan. 14.Head of Berbak-Sembilang National Park Area II, Affan Absori, confirmed that after years of sinking, Betet is officially underwater.READ MORE:“It has sunk because the sea level has risen and because of the tsunami. But there is no significant disruption for the animals,” Affan said in a Jan. 15 statement. 2:00 Ancient seawall shows how ancestors also faced rising sea levels and climate change Ancient seawall shows how ancestors also faced rising sea levels and climate changeNo humans were living on these islands, but that wasn’t the case for six others that washed into the sea.

One was Nuatambu island, which housed 25 families. Many were forced to relocate and 11 homes were destroyed, the island habitable, The Guardian reported at the time.Indonesian scientists at a Bali conference in 2007 claimed that the Indonesian capital’s airport would be flooded with water by 2035.That year, tides burst through sea walls, cutting off a key road to Jakarta’s international airport until officials were able to reinforce coastal barricades,.By 2080, they predict the tide will hit the steps of Jakarta’s Dutch-era presidential palace, the publication said. READ MORE:“Tens of millions of people would have to move out of their homes. There is no way this will happen without conflict,” Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said in 2007.“The cost would be very high. Imagine, it’s not just about building better infrastructure, but we’d have to relocate people and change the way people live,” Witoelar said, adding that Indonesia could lose 2,000 of its islands by 2030 if sea levels continue to rise.Climate change is for rising sea levels, the Straits Times says, and threatens most of the millions of people living in low-lying coastal areas.—With files from Reuters.