Guterres Warns of Catastrophic Sea-Level Rise Threatening Pacific Island Nations

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has issued a grave warning about the rising sea levels endangering Pacific island nations, calling for urgent global action to address the looming catastrophe.

Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, recently sounded another alarm about climate change. He emphasized that sea levels are increasing rapidly in vulnerable regions like Pacific island nations and urged action to address this crisis.

“Save our seas,” he said, explaining what the initials stood for this time.

On Monday, reports from the United Nations and the World Meteorological Organization highlighted exacerbated sea level increase due to a warming planet as well as melting glaciers and ice sheets.

They emphasize that the negative impacts of climate change on the southwestern Pacific are not limited to rising water levels, but also include ocean acidification and marine heat waves.

Touring Samoa and Tonga, Guterres voiced his climate change warning during a meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum in Nuku’alofa on Tuesday. The member countries of this forum are particularly vulnerable to the effects of global warming.

In the coming month, a special session will be held by the United Nations General Assembly to address concerns over increasing sea levels.

Guterres remarked that the situation is insane, citing that elevated water levels are a product of human actions. He stressed how soon this crisis will reach an unimaginable magnitude and there appears to be no solution in sight.

“The Pacific paradise is at risk due to a global disaster,” he stated. “The ocean is spilling over.”

According to a study commissioned by Guterres’ team, the sea level in Nuku’alofa – Tonga’s capital city – has surged 21 centimeters (8.3 inches) from 1990 to 2020, which is double that of the global mean increase of only10 centimeters (3.9 inches). Likewise, Samoa’s Apia experienced a one-foot surge or equivalently around31 centimeters and Fiji’s Suva-B had an elevation measuring29centimeter so far with rising waters surging up against their shores too!

Guterres stated that Pacific Island nations are in serious jeopardy, with approximately 90% of the population residing within a distance of 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the advancing sea levels.

According to the WMO State of the Climate in the South-West Pacific report for 2023, there has been a significant increase in coastal flooding across several areas. In Guam, this phenomenon went up from twice a year to 22 times annually since 1980; while in Cook Islands, it rose from five times yearly to as much as 43 occurrences per annum. American Samoa’s Pago Pago locality experienced an even more drastic change – going from zero instances of coastal floods previously recorded before now becoming frequent with over one hundred and two episodes each year.

Celeste Saulo, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization, stated on Tuesday in Nuku’alofa that due to sea level rise, the ocean is no longer a lifelong friend but has instead become an escalating danger.

According to the WMO, sea level rise in the western Pacific is approximately twice that of the global average. However, in contrast to this trend, sea levels in the central Pacific are more consistent with those observed globally.

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UN officials have stated that the western tropical Pacific is experiencing a faster rise in sea levels due to multiple factors, including ocean currents and warmer waters as well as the location where melted ice from western Antarctica flows.

Changes have been observed by Guterres since he last visited the region in May 2019.

On Tuesday, while he was attending the annual summit of Pacific leaders in Nuku’alofa to discuss environmental matters, a group comprising numerous local high school students and activists from various parts of the Pacific region marched for climate justice just several blocks away.

Itinterunga Rae from the Barnaban Human Rights Defenders Network was among the participants in the march. Her community had been compelled to migrate from their original Kiribati island residence to Fiji due to ecological harm that took place many generations ago. According to her, leaving Pacific islands should not be regarded as a remedy for increasing water levels.

He stated that although climate mobility is promoted as a solution to escape from an island ravaged by climate change, it may not be the most secure choice. Additionally, he pointed out how Barnabans have been deprived of their culture and heritage due to being isolated from its source on the island.

According to S. Jeffress Williams, a former sea level scientist at U.S. Geological Survey, the warning is warranted as majority of Pacific islands are situated at lower altitudes making their inhabitants more vulnerable to danger. The reports on rising sea levels have been confirmed by three independent experts for accuracy in depiction of present scenario.

Although it only emits 0.2% of greenhouse gases that contribute to the rising temperatures and expanding oceans, the Pacific Ocean is experiencing severe impacts according to a report by UN. The primary cause behind this surge can be traced back to melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica with land glaciers contributing their share as well; moreover, warmer water expands based on fundamental laws of physics which further adds up into exacerbating such situations.

In an email, Williams stated that the rapid increase in warming at the poles has caused a significant acceleration of melting in both Antarctic and Greenland over the last three to four decades. Williams was not involved with these reports.

According to the UN, nearly 90% of the heat that greenhouse gases retain ultimately ends up in ocean waters.