The low-lying island nations of Tuvalu and Tokelau have declared water emergencies and parts of Samoa are rationing water. Climate change has raised the sea level so that what little freshwater lens the islands have has been reduced. Higher temperatures evaporate more of it. Climate change is also causing more frequent and severe La Ninas, which causes droughts.
This is not going to get better. It’s going to get worse. The sea level will keep on rising, the temperature will get hotter, and extreme weather events will become more common. That’s even if we were to stop emitting greenhouse pollution right now. We’re not doing that.
The situation for low-lying islands will become untenable. We’ll waste a hell of a lot of wealth trying to pretend otherwise and keep the islands going with ridiculous measures like shipping in water. But their fate is inevitable. They are the canaries in the coal-mine for all of us. Will we continue to ignore the warning?
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