March 21, 2014

Theyre jewels of the oceans, small paradisiacal islands and atolls that rise up in the middle of the sea often developed for the pleasure of holidaymakers seeking tropical getaways. But they wont last long.

Hyperbole? Not for the scientists whove been sounding the alarm for years on the dangers of rising sea levels; the locals whove already borne weather-related disasters on their islands; or the families whove already been uprooted from their homes and been relocated the worlds first climate change refugees.

Last year, presidents and leaders of small island nations assembled before the United Nations pleading with the worlds most powerful nations to save their countries from the threat of extinction.

We are disastrously off course, said President Anote Tong of Kiribati, a string of 33 islands in the central Pacific Ocean about 4,000 km (2,500 miles) southwest of Hawaii.

Already, families on the Carteret Islands in the South Pacific have had to abandon their homes and be relocated to neighboring islands due to rising sea levels that have slowly swallowed parts of their island.

With World Water Day set for March 22, heres a look at some tropical island destinations you may want to visit, before rising sea levels threaten to bury them forever.

Maldives As the lowest lying country on the planet, the Maldives is particularly vulnerable to the threat of rising sea levels. Pleasure seekers may know the destination for its thatched-roofed huts, luxury hotels like the Conrad Maldives and its underwater restaurant, but underneath the fantastical extravagance lies a grim reality that threatens to put the island under.

Seychelles Set in the Indian Ocean, 1,600 km from the east coast of Africa, the Seychelles is another island destination well-frequented by pleasure seekers. Comprised of 115 islands, luxury hotel brands like the Four Seasons and Hilton set up locations on this remote tropical outpost for their well-heeled clientele. What the holidaymakers may fail to see above their spa treatments and beach vacation, however, is that the country has experienced the worst coral die-off in the world, and worrying spans of drought.

Marshall Islands History buffs may be particularly drawn to the Marshall Islands for its marine graveyard of sunken ships following the Second World War. Tourist activities include diving trips to the shipwrecks and big-game fishing. But island president Christopher J. Loeak has been vocal about the plight of his nation, saying that in recent months his country was ravaged by an unprecedented drought and a few weeks later a giant king tide that flooded the capital unusual phenomenon unseen during his lifetime, he said. In the Marshall Islands, like elsewhere in the Pacific, climate change is no longer a distant threat, nor at the doorstep. Climate change is here.

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