United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is putting out yet another climate SOS to the world. This time he says those initials stand for “save our seas' as he tours vulnerable Pacific island nations getting hit extra hard by rising sea level.
FILE - Tourists watch the sun set along a popular beach in Tamuning, Guam, May 6, 2019. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the opening of the annual Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Nuku’alofa, Tonga , Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. High school students march for climate justice as Pacific leaders meet in Nuku’alofa, Tonga , Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. High school students march for climate justice as Pacific leaders meet in Nuku’alofa, Tonga , Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024.
A report that Guterres’ office commissioned found that sea level lapping against Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa had risen 21 centimeters between 1990 and 2020, twice the global average of 10 centimeters . Apia, Samoa, has seen 31 centimeters of rising seas, while Suva-B, Fiji has had 29 centimeters . While the western edges of the Pacific are seeing sea level rise about twice the global average, the central Pacific is closer to the global average, the WMO said.
High school students march for climate justice as Pacific leaders meet in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. While he met in Nuku’alofa on Tuesday with Pacific nations on the environment at their leaders’ annual summit, a hundred local high school students and activists from across the Pacific marched for climate justice a few blocks away.
“The alarm is justified,” said S. Jeffress Williams, a retired U.S. Geological Survey sea level scientist. He said it’s especially bad for the Pacific islands because most of the islands are at low elevations, so people are more likely to get hurt. Three outside experts said the sea level reports accurately reflect what’s happening.
Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai, from left, Niue Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi and New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters attend the opening of the annual Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024.
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