Pacific Islands Need $10 Billion to Fight Rising Seas 🌊
Have you ever been to the beach and noticed how the waves come up to the shore? 🏖️ Imagine if the water kept coming higher and higher each year! That’s what’s happening to some tiny island countries in the Pacific Ocean.
Who Are These Islands?
There are three small countries called Kiribati, Tuvalu, and the Marshall Islands. They are made up of many little islands called atolls 🏝️. Most of their land is only 2 to 3 meters above the sea! That’s about as tall as a one-story house.
What’s the Problem?
Because of climate change, the sea levels are rising 🌊🌡️. The World Bank says that the sea could rise by up to 0.5 meters (which is about 1.6 feet) by the year 2050 in a worst-case scenario, or more likely by 2070. This might not sound like much, but for these low-lying islands, it’s a big deal!
If the sea gets that much higher, parts of these countries could be underwater. Homes, schools, and even whole towns could be flooded.
How Much Will It Cost?
To protect themselves, these countries need to build things like sea walls, raise houses, and even move people to safer areas. But this will cost nearly $10 billion dollars! 💰 That’s a lot of money—about the same as everything these countries make in 20 years!
- Kiribati: Needs $3.7 billion
- Tuvalu: Needs $1 billion
- Marshall Islands: Needs $5 billion
Why Is This Important?
About one-third of the people in Kiribati and Tuvalu could become extremely poor because of floods and other climate problems. Also, more people might get sick because of hotter weather 🌡️🤒.
What Can Be Done?
The governments need to start working on plans now! They might build sea walls, bring in sand and rocks to make the land higher, and improve health care and schools.
But they can’t do it alone. The world needs to help them. 🌍❤️
How You Can Help
You can learn more about climate change and how it affects people around the world. Talk to your friends and family about saving energy, recycling, and taking care of our planet. Every little bit helps! 🌳♻️
Reference(s):
Pacific atolls face $10 billion cost of rising sea, says World Bank
cgtn.com
