UN Secretary General warns of unprecedented increase in the Pacific

Published at: 26/08/2024 11:23 PM

The Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, launched a “global SOS” in the face of the rapid rise in the level of the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

He made the warning through a message published this Monday, August 26, on his account of the social network X, in which he stated that “I am in Tonga to launch a global SOS: let's save our seas”.

“The global average sea level is rising at an unprecedented rate in the last 3,000 years. The ocean is overflowing due to climate change. The world must #ActuarAhora and respond to the SOS before it's too late,” he added.

In another message, he emphasized that “humanity is treating the sea like a sewer. Plastic pollution is suffocating marine life. Greenhouse gases are causing the warming and acification of the oceans and an accelerated rise in sea level.”

During a meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum, which took place this Monday, the 26th, in Nukualofa, the capital of the aforementioned Oceanian country, Guterres said that “a global catastrophe is endangering this Pacific paradise”.

“It's a crazy situation. The rise in sea level is a crisis entirely caused by humanity. A crisis that will soon grow to an almost unimaginable scale, without any lifeboat to keep us safe,” he added, noting that this puts Pacific island nations in “serious danger”.

The Pacific Islands, despite their small population and minimal contribution to global CO2 emissions, less than 0.02% of annual emissions, are among the regions most vulnerable to climate change.

These islands, made up of coral atolls and volcanic landscapes, face an increasing risk due to rising sea levels, a phenomenon that threatens to make vast areas of these island nations uninhabitable.

The report presented by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) during the summit reveals alarming data: in some parts of the Pacific, sea level has risen by up to 15 centimeters in the last 30 years, far exceeding the global average of 9.4 centimeters in the same period.

These increases, which may seem modest, have a devastating impact on coastal communities, eroding land, destroying crops and putting the lives and culture of millions of people at risk.

Mazo News Team