Main content

Will rising sea levels wipe countries off the map?

Rising seas caused by climate change will leave many small island nations underwater by 2100 鈥 but are they fated to disappear?

Small island nations are facing an existential threat. It鈥檚 predicted that by 2100, Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Maldives and many others will be underwater, because of rising sea levels and increasingly extreme weather events.

At the recent COP27 conference in Egypt. The most polluting industrialised countries agreed in principle to set up a 鈥渓oss and damage鈥 fund, effectively recognising that low-lying islands are bearing the brunt of climate change.

But is their loss inevitable? Could traditional sea wall defences hold back the waters, or are there more effective solutions? Will entire communities need to be moved to higher ground, or even entire nations transplanted to safer locations?

This week on the Inquiry, we鈥檙e asking: will rising sea levels wipe countries off the map?

Presented by Charmaine Cozier
Produced by Ravi Naik
Researcher Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty
Editor Tara McDermott
Technical producer Richard Hannaford
Broadcast Coordinator Brenda Brown

(a woman in a lagoon in the threatened coral atoll nation of Tuvalu. Credit: Mario Tama /Getty Images)

Available now

23 minutes

Last on

Thu 8 Dec 2022 23:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Thu 8 Dec 2022 08:06GMT
  • Thu 8 Dec 2022 15:06GMT
  • Thu 8 Dec 2022 18:06GMT
  • Thu 8 Dec 2022 23:06GMT

Podcast