SINKING

Climate Change Could Make Thousands of Islands ‘Uninhabitable’ by Mid-21st Century: Study

Many low-lying atoll islands could be flooded by rising sea levels as a result of climate change.

Rising sea levels could make over a thousand low-lying tropical islands “uninhabitable” by the mid-21st century, according to a study published Wednesday. The study focused on Roi-Namur Island, which is on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, home to more than 1,100 low-lying islands on 29 atolls. Roi-Namur has a U.S. military base. The research, which was commissioned by the Pentagon’s Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program, said that climate change could cause flooding and contaminate drinking supplies on many atoll islands. “It’s a scary scenario for us,” Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine said. A Defense Department spokesperson said military personnel on the islands will continue to prepare for “a wide range of threats.”