Guterres: SOS for Rising Pacific Ocean
Temperatures have been rising three times faster than the global average on the islands of Oceania
Rising sea levels caused by global warming are becoming a difficult problem in the Pacific islands. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres drew attention to the problem and issued an SOS during the Pacific Islands Forum held in the last week of August in Tonga.
Ocean temperatures in the Pacific islands are rising three times faster than the global average, and local populations are “exceptionally” affected by rising sea levels. In the Southwest Pacific, Guterres explained, sea levels in some areas have risen more than twice the global average over the past 30 years.
“I am in Tonga to launch the global SOS – Save Our Seas – campaign on sea level rise,” said the UN Secretary-General. “Rising sea levels are increasing the frequency and severity of storms and coastal flooding. These floods inundate coastal settlements. They spoil fishing. They damage crops. They contaminate fresh water. This puts Pacific island nations at serious risk.”
