How is Climate Change Affecting Small State Islands Around the Globe?

Sustainability is one of the most significant aspects of nature, which is the principal inference for the rehabilitation and sustainability of both the planet, as well as the species inhabiting the planet. However, unfortunately, we have failed in the subsistence of this sustainability, which has resulted in the degeneration of Earth. And ultimately, it has disharmonized the balance between the living and the environment, thereby inflicting threats for the survival of every species. One form of this change has been in the form of change in the climate of Earth. This climate change has drastic effects, with each effect distinctive from one region to the other, depending on the human pastimes, performed in each region. (IPOC, 2007) Climate change is precisely illustrated as a global phenomenon of transition in the Earth’s atmosphere, including changes in the temperature, precipitation, wind, and humidity, which in turn disrupts living conditions. Scientists have evaluated climate change as an expansive range of transnational procedures, generated predominantly by the burning of fossil fuels, augmenting heat-trapping gases into the Earth’s atmosphere. As a result of these gases, the temperature of the atmosphere increases, which is referred to as global warming. This global warming besides rising atmosphere temperature encompasses a broad spectrum of other changes: sea-level rise, melting of ice caps, changes in food chains, and food webs, extreme weather events, and thunderstorms. (Caney, 2015)

This climate change has caused extreme variation in the environmental climate of the southern regions, by the melting of ice caps. The increased temperature inflicted by Global Warming is primarily caused by the melting of ice caps. When solar radiations reflect upon the ice caps, nearly 90% of it reflects the atmosphere, however, the remaining 10% is absorbed by the earth and it is considerable enough to melt the ice. As these solar radiations are absorbed by the ice caps, they are melted into water. This water flows to the oceans and seas and ultimately increases the water levels. The 10% of the absorbed radiation as mentioned earlier melts the ice, while the remaining 90% of the ice, which is reflected into the atmosphere, heats the atmosphere, partaking in bolstering the global warming. And hence this reflected heat indirectly again melts the ice caps. (Thuiller, 2007). Hence, it is a highly interrelated phenomenon, where each process affects the other.

And all of these processes directly or indirectly affect environmental sustainability. As the ice melts, the land or water underneath the frozen layers of ice is exposed. And when the heat waves reflect over this exposed surface, it is absorbed, increasing the temperature of these surfaces. This increased temperature of these exposed surfaces heats both water bodies and land. And the heat up Earth and water bodies then have two progressions. Either to absorb heat, causing the death of the species living underneath the earth as well as of the aquatic life, or two reflect some of the heat to the atmosphere, which again follows the same cycle. (Garnaut, 2008) Hence, through every route of this interrelated cycle, we come to the same conclusion of increased temperature and rise in the levels of water bodies. This melting of ice has been a very fast process, and it had been estimated by the scientists that if we continue to follow the same industrial lifestyle and utilization of nuclear energy, then all the ice in the Arctic Ocean as well as in Greenland will be melted, and the human specie will face the environmental disasters within the summers of the next decade. (Anon., 2015)

It has been asserted that the climate change is specifically inflicting melting of ice caps in the southern hemisphere, in the Arctic and Antarctica, which is causing a tremendous rise in the water level of seas. This surge in water level is of great threat as it will ultimately result in floods, which will prove fatal for the small state islands. Some of the countries will shrink and some will eventually disappear from the world map. This is evident from the fact that the sea level has been rising each year by about 1–2 mm. Now, this rise in seawater is primarily caused by the global warming that melts the ice caps, and this water of the ice caps travels through rivers and canals, adding to the oceans and finally travelling to the seas, increasing water levels. This, in turn, increases the chances of floods, tsunamis, thunderstorms, and heavy rains. Scientists have estimated that the areas more vulnerable to the thermal heatwaves and global warmings, such as the Greenland Ice Sheet and the West Arctic Ice Sheet are in profound danger because of increasing water levels. As ice sheets have been melting at an exponential rate, and if this melting continued at the same level, then the global sea level would rise by 6.5 meters alone by the Greenland Ice Sheet, and 8 meters by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, as hypothesized by the marine scientists. (Seinfeld, 2008)

This elevation in the water level of the water bodies causes floods, which in turn have drastic effects on the population of the areas living beside the seas and oceans as it implicates financial, social, economic, and life losses. But besides these losses, environmental deterioration is the most devastating factor. The rising water levels cause soil erosion, nutrient depletion, and loss of habitats.

The small state islands besides these problems, face other threats, the threat of being washed away by the rising water levels. The exponential rise in the level of seawater can implicate conditions that could result in extreme floods, as the seas could no longer support the increased level of water and ultimately will expel large quantities of water. This thrust water will entangle the entire islands, and hence pushing these small lands areas into the sea, despite all efforts from the people (Dale, 1997). And the world has realized, that if global warming isn’t controlled, then most of the state islands incorporating Mauritius, Barbados, and Malta, all located in the Mediterranean Sea and the nine islands of Tuvalu, 12 islands of Vanuatu, 15 islands of Cape Verde, 115 islands of Seychelles, 180 islands of Tonga, 1200 islands of Maldives, are at stake of washing out. And the washing of these islands does not only means the economic loss but the loss of precious human lives as well as animal lives. Since, as all of these islands are inhabited by a large number of people with diverse flora and fauna. Hence, climate change and global warming have a direct relation with the small state islands. (Thomas, 2010) And this relation has been evident from the historical weather changes, floods, and Tsunamis that these islands have suffered, primarily just because of the rapid rise in the water level. For instance, the 2009 flood in the small state island of Maldives, caused by the rising water levels, resulted in a large number of casualties. Besides these, some of the floods have been evident in Vanuatu, St. Lucia, Mauritius, Cook Islands, Kiribati, and Nauru. (LeaBerrang-Ford, 2011)

And this will continue till the ice caps are being melted and the temperature continues to rise, and till we don’t change our living conditions and stop using cheap industrial and nuclear means. And this continuation will somehow, result in the complete removal of the small state islands and other countries, established near water bodies. (Farrell, 2008)

Therefore, the international community must emphasize this need of using the strategies to cope with the arduous problem of rising water levels in the sea, and we must take possible actions to ensure that the reasons behind this elevated seawater are tackled. Now there are several ways to prevent this environmental threat. Firstly, the international community must ensure that all countries are following the standardized international protocols in their industrial sector, to control the contributing factors to the rising temperature. For instance, the extensive burning of fossil fuels, and excessive nuclear experimentation, specifically uranium experimentation must be controlled, as it plays a substantial role in nurturing global warming. (JonBarnett, 2003) Secondly, all the minor factors incorporating automobiles, air conditioners, refrigerators must be used in a controlled way. Instead of having individual cars, we as an individual can switch to the busses or trains, contributing from our side, resulting in the decreased elimination of the harmful gasses such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and lead, that pollute the environment and deplete ozone, all resulting in increased global warming. Furthermore, the international provisions can limit the use of such things to each country, permitting them to use a calculated number of vehicles, a calculated number of Air conditioners, and other devices that release harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. Thereby controlling the concentration of harmful gases in the atmosphere. But these will only prevent further worsening of conditions, hence we also need to undertake some rehabilitation protocols, to restore the sustainability of our environmental temperature and our ecosystem. There can be several rehabilitator strategies, for instance, planting of trees, that can result in the maximum release of oxygen gas, and thereby cleansing the atmosphere of harmful chemicals. This will not only decrease global warming but will also improve the air quality, in which we breathe. Moreover, the use of renewable energy resources including wind energy, solar energy, and hydro energy, can also prove to be of supreme importance in alleviating the increased temperature levels and global warming. Renewable energy resources will also involve the use of water, which will be extracted from the water bodies, primarily from the seas and oceans with the elevated water level, and hence can reduce the water levels, with fewer chances of the small state islands to wash out. (Pinkse, 2004)

Summing up, climate change has worsened the condition of our planet, including our atmosphere, environment, and ecosystem, with effects that were once beyond our imagination. We must and we should take certain measures to reduce this climatic change, and the heightened rise in global warming, to sustain living conditions on the Earth. Only then, we will be able to sustain life on Earth (Schneider, 2001). And if we continued our actions, soon we will be extinct like our chronological counter species. Hence, we must save Earth, because it’s the only way to save ourselves.

Have you contributed to the maintenance of sustainability and how? Let us know in the comment section….