Small Islands Feel the Real Heat of Climate Change

In the 20th century, melting ice masses and ocean expansion due to warmer waterscaused global sea levels to rise some 10-20 centimeters.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that sea level could rise two to four times faster in the next 100 years, putting at risk a number of low-lying small island states in the Pacific and Indian oceans and the Caribbean. In the worst-case scenario, hundreds of coastal communities would be inundated, forcing their populations to move further inland—or off the island entirely.

Source:

Small Island States Threatened by Sea Level Rise, Vital Signs 2003, pp. 84-85.

Worldwatch Links:

Vital Signs 2003 press release
More research from Worldwatch

Additional Resources:

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Small Island Developing States Network (SIDSnet)
World Environment Day: 5 June 2003