2,000 Islands Gone by 2030: Indonesia
It was only the other day I put up an article about the government’s intention to name 9,000 islands, and now, global warming could in fact cause the loss of 2,000 islands.
According to a report in the Antara News, seal levels could rise dramatically as well as other causes. Here’s the article:
Indonesia could lose 2,000 small islands by 2030 due to a rise in sea levels as a result of climate change, Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said.
According to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the sea level could rise between eight and 29 centimetres (three and 12 inches) by 2030, inundating many of Indonesia’s lower-lying islands, he was quoted by AFP as saying.
“Everybody in this world is experiencing directly the effects of climate change, whether it is floods, droughts or, heaven forbid, sea-level rise, those are phenomena that are impeding development,” he told reporters.
The archipelago comprises more than 17,000 islands.
Witoelar said agriculture had been affected by changes in weather patterns, with rice not planted on schedule and Indonesia experiencing a significant increase in temperatures.
Indonesia is also expected to see higher rainfall in coming wet seasons.
Floods in the north of Sumatra island in December killed dozens of people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee.
The Indonesian resort island of Bali will host the 13th UN Climate Change Conference in December, with between 7,000 and 10,000 participants from more than 100 countries expected to attend, the minister said.
Source: Antara News