Time is running out for the Maldives – as not one but three existential dangers threaten its survival
The Maldives is fighting for its very survival.
As an archipelago of low-lying islands in the Indian Ocean, it faces not one but three existential dangers, all driven by climate change.
The rising sea levels threaten to submerge some of the islands with some scientists warning this disaster could happen within the next decade.
Extreme weather is causing coastal erosion to happen more quickly
The under-pressure islands also face another threat. Seasonal weather patterns have become severely disrupted.
Monsoons and tropical storms are more frequent and more violent. They are exaggerating natural coastal erosion and making it happen much more quickly.
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It means the islands are literally shrinking. But one of the most pressing emergencies is the drastic loss of the atoll coral.
Rising sea temperatures are killing the coral reefs and that is having a devastating impact on life, both on land and sea.
The reefs are crucial to the island’s survival, not only are they an essential part of the entire marine ecosystem but they provide protection for the coastline.
Azim Musthag is a marine scientist at the Small Island Research Group based in the Maldives’ capital – Male.
He has been measuring the health of the archipelago’s coral reef and his findings are troubling.
Azim Musthag says most of the coral reefs are dead or aren’t recovering quickly enough
“It is quite serious,” he said. “The reefs aren’t recovering as fast as we would like.
“A large proportion of the reefs are still dead or they are recovering too slowly and this is bad for a nation like the Maldives.
“The coral reef is the basis of life here. We are a country in the middle of the Indian Ocean and there are no other sources of nutrients around the reef, it’s the home for nearly all of our marine life.”
Mr Musthag has no doubt what is killing the coral. He said: “Sea temperatures related to climate change are definitely the main cause of such destruction.”
The warnings over the impact of climate change on the Maldives have been sounded for years.
Coastal erosion is one of the issues
Mr Mushtag added that it is time for action, saying: “We need to commit to reducing the amount of greenhouse gases, actually we need to bring it below zero.
“We need to find ways to put carbon back into the earth and invest in or restore low-carbon ecosystems like mangroves, seagrass meadows, and natural forests.
“We don’t have that many years ahead of us. We need to take action really fast and I don’t think the major countries, the major players, are doing much about it. It’s not as fast as we would like.”
As our planet heats up the sea level rises and data for the Maldives shows a 3-4mm increase in the last year alone.
That means these low-lying islands could be completely submerged within the next decade, but there is another, perhaps, even more, urgent crisis: coastal erosion.
The Minister of State for Environment, Dr Abdulla Naseer, is worried that people may be forced to move to a different island
Dr Abdullah Naseer, the country’s Minister of State for Environment, is a coastal marine scientist who has been gathering data from across the islands.
“We are very worried about it,” he said, stressing they need to find a solution for the people living on these islands.
“There are 186 inhabited islands and each and every one, almost 90% of them now, complain that the islands have been eroding away and to help them out in some way.
“So we are spending more than necessary on coastal protection. We have to find alternative sources of funding for coastal protection and also to find solutions to the current rate of erosion.”
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If a solution is not found soon then the Maldivian government may be forced to take extreme measures like forced evacuations.
Dr Naseer added: “We are concerned that we may have to move people around, you know, consolidate people to a different island.”
The red flags about the future of these islands have been ignored for too long. Time for the Maldives is running out.
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Countries in South and Southeast Asia have been coping with a weeks-long heatwave which has seen record temperatures sweep parts of the region.
Pupils in the Philippines, India and Bangladesh have been told to stay at home and learn remotely due to a severe health risk.
Schools in Cambodia have also cut back on their hours.
Cambodia faces its hottest temperature in 170 years, according to meteorologists – as high as 43C (109F).
Bangkok in Thailand has reached 40C (104 F), but the heat index is said to have topped 50 C (122 F) due to the heat being trapped among the mass of buildings.
The United Nations Children’s Fund warned in April that the heat could put the lives of millions of children at risk and asked people who care for them to take extra precautions.
A spokesperson for UNICEF said around 243 million children were exposed to hotter and longer heatwaves.
A woman drinks from a public tap in India. Pic: AP
They said the increased heat was “putting them at risk of a multitude of heat-related illnesses, and even death”.
Thirty people in Thailand have died from heatstroke in the past month, according to data from the country’s health ministry.
People are being advised to avoid outdoor activities and to stay hydrated.
Several towns in Myanmar were included on lists of the hottest spots globally last month, with temperatures reaching 48.2C (118F) in at least one case.
People stock up on water in India. Pic: AP
Parts of eastern India also experienced their hottest April on record.
Kerala, on India’s west coast, this week instructed all schools and colleges to close until Monday, while influencers in Bangladesh have encouraging people to plant trees in response to the record heat.
Benjamin Horton, director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, said there were three factors for heatwaves: a naturally-occurring climate phenomenon known as El Nino, an increase in global temperatures, and human-induced climate change.
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Brazil is currently experiencing another climate phenomenon – La Nina – with 39 dead and 68 missing in floods across the country.
More than 24,000 people have been forced to leave their homes due to the flooding.
Scientists believe the naturally-occurring phenomenon has intensified due to the impact of climate change.
China has been branded “a bully” and an international lawbreaker after its ships blasted Philippine vessels with water cannon in the South China Sea.
Sky News was on board the BRP Bagacay when a Chinese vessel fired water at it, causing significant damage.
Philippine coastguard spokesman Jay Tarriela told Sky News that this week’s confrontation was the first time China had used “such aggression” against their ships.
“The metal parts and the railing were bent. The canopy was also destroyed. So this came as a surprise for us that China never hesitated to use brute force,” he said.
“It completely justifies us calling The People’s Republic of China a bully country.”
Jay Tarriela, a spokesman for the Philippine Coastguard, told Sky News that China is a ‘bully’
The Philippine coastguard was on a resupply mission to the Scarborough Shoal to deliver food and fuel to Philippine fishermen when they were struck.
The submerged reef lies in disputed waters. China claims sovereignty over the reef but it is much closer to the Philippines and lies within its legally recognised exclusive economic zone.
The vessel Sky News was on board was the closest the coastguard had ever been to the shoal – just 600 metres away from it.
Asked if the mission to the shoal was a provocative move by the Philippine coastguard, Commodore Tarriela denied they were “poking the bear” but rather “driving the bear out of our own territory”.
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Sky witnesses China-Philippine confrontation
The Philippines has been stepping up its patrols in the area under the instruction of President Bongbong Marcos, and reasserting its claim to the shoal in recent months.
It has raised the spectre of open conflict. While neither side currently wants that, there is now a greater threat of open conflict.
Asked what the end game was for the Philippines, Commodore Tarriela said their priority was to “tell the world” about China’s aggression.
China’s coastguard fired water at Philippine coastguard vessel BRP Bagacay while Sky was onboard
He said their secondary goal was to ensure “like-minded states” also made China “fall in line and respect international law”.
“Otherwise, it’s everybody’s loss,” he added.
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Philippine government policy is not to resist using water cannon against Chinese vessels – and Commodore Tarriela insisted that policy remains in place after the confrontation.
The government also remains intensely determined to protect the waters it believes it has every right to operate in.
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“We’re not going to yield and we’re not going to surrender a square inch of our territory,” Commodore Tarriela insisted.
Beijing has called the action its own coastguard took as “necessary”.
Speaking at the Chinese foreign ministry’s daily news conference, spokesperson Lin Jian described the coastguard’s conduct as “professional, proper, and lawful”.
World
Three charged over killing of Sikh separatist leader in Canada – in incident which sparked diplomatic spat with India
Three suspects have been charged by Canadian police over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Vancouver last June, in an incident that sparked a diplomatic spat between Ottawa and New Delhi.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a temple by masked gunmen in Surrey, outside Vancouver, on 18 June 2023.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police assistant commissioner David Teboul said police could not comment on the nature of the evidence or the motive.
“This matter is very much under active investigation,” Teboul said.
The three suspects – Indian nationals Kamalpreet Singh, Karan Brar and Karampreet Singh – were arrested in Edmonton, Alberta, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
Superintendent Mandeep Mooker said: “This investigation does not end here. We are aware that others may have played a role in this homicide and we remain dedicated to finding and arresting each one of these individuals.”
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Canada killing ‘linked’ to India govt
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sparked a diplomatic feud with India when he said in September that there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the killing. India angrily denied involvement.
Mr Nijjar, an Indian-born citizen of Canada, was a leader in what remains of the Khalistan movement – a once-strong group calling for the creation of an independent Sikh homeland.
He was organising an unofficial referendum in India for an independent Sikh nation at the time of this death and had denied allegations of ties to terrorism.
The Khalistan movement has lost much of its power but is still supported by some in the Punjab state in northwestern India and in the Sikh diaspora overseas.
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A violent, decade-long Sikh insurgency shook north India in the 1970s and 1980s, and was ultimately crushed in a government crackdown which saw thousands of people killed, including prominent Sikh leaders.
In June 1984, Indian forces stormed the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine in Amritsar, where separatists had taken refuge.
In more recent years, the Indian government has repeatedly warned that Sikh separatists were trying to make a comeback.
Read more: What is the Khalistan movement?
Mr Trudeau’s accusation angered India PM Narendra Modi. File pic: AP
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The diplomatic row saw diplomats expelled by both India and Canada.
The Indian government said it “completely rejected” Mr Trudeau’s allegations and added: “We are a democratic polity with a strong commitment to rule of law.”
The dispute derailed trade talks between the two countries and ultimately saw Canada withdraw 41 of its 62 diplomats in India.
At the time, Canada did not provide public evidence to back up Mr Trudeau’s allegations. However, it did reveal the claims were based on intelligence provided by a major ally and surveillance of Indian diplomats in the country.
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