scienceUpdated: Jun 11, 2020 12:58 ISTIn recent years, the leaders and inhabitants of many small-island nations like Kiribati and Tuvalu have warned that climate change is an existential threat to their homelands, fearing they could disappear under rising seas as the planet warms. A three-year study led by Britain’s University of Plymouth, which looked at coral reef islands such as the Maldives and the Marshall Islands, found that tides move sediment to create higher elevation, a process that may keep the islands habitable. The world’s tens of thousands of coral reef islands are mostly uninhabited, but are home to about 1 million people who largely rely on fishing or tourism for a living, said Masselink. Sea walls, however, are compromising the natural ability of the islands to adjust to rising sea levels, he said. Most coral islands do not depend on agriculture, and import food and fresh water, making saltwater contamination during flooding less of an issue, he noted.

Source: Hindustan Times June 11, 2020 07:28 UTC