GENEVA — Sea levels in the South-West Pacific are rising faster than the global average, threatening low-lying islands while heat damages marine ecosystems, the United Nations meteorological agency said Friday.
In its State of the Climate in the South-West Pacific 2022 report, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said water levels were rising about 4 mm per year in some areas, slightly above the global mean rate.
That means low-lying territories such as Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands over time could become flooded, destroying agricultural and habitable lands with inhabitants unable to move to higher elevations.
The report added that marine heatwaves had occurred in …
Keep on reading: Pacific island sea levels rising faster than global average, WMO says
