The Maldives (Republic of Maldives) is always referred to as a paradise on earth, with approximately 1,190 islands stretching over an area of more than 35,000 square meters in the Indian Ocean and facing the west coast of Sri Lanka. With crystal-clear waters, stretches of white sandy beaches, and luxurious 5-star resorts, Maldives is always on the list of dream travel destinations for many tourists.

Unfortunately, this beautiful island nation is under threat of disappearance due to the direct impact of climate change and the phenomenon of rising sea levels.

Why is Maldives at risk of sinking?

Maldives is a country that consists of 90,649 square kilometers of sea and only 298 square kilometers of land, with very few islands larger than 1.2 square kilometers. The uniqueness of Maldives is created by the interaction between land and sea, but this structure is highly flexible. The islands themselves are temporary, with sandy beaches lying on developing coral reefs that contract and shift with changes in ocean currents and the settling of sand. Most of the islands, including the capital city of Malé, are only about 160cm above sea level. Climate scientists have predicted that they will be submerged by the end of the 21st century due to rising sea levels caused by climate change.

Temperature changes are a major threat that makes Maldives vulnerable to dangerous natural disasters, affecting both human lives and property. Like many islands in Southeast Asia and other oceans, island terrain is susceptible to erosion from surface runoff and rising sea levels. With continuous emissions from industries around the world and the expected global temperature to rise by an additional 3°C, the possibility of islands like Maldives sinking is entirely possible.

By 2050, 80% of the land area of Maldives could become uninhabitable due to global warming. As early as 1988, the Maldives government declared that rising sea levels would completely submerge 1,196 small islands in this Indian Ocean country within the next 30 years. This means that in reality, things could be worse in 30 years than predicted.

However, the future of Maldives is still uncertain in the next 30 years. The 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted that the upper limit of sea level rise would be 59cm by 2100. This means that nearly 200 inhabited islands in Maldives could be abandoned due to no longer being safe for human habitation.

Maldives is struggling to save itself.

As climate change continues to increase, Maldives is racing against time, hoping that global leaders will act to reduce carbon emissions before it’s too late. The country has bet its future on building a high-rise artificial island that could be the home of most of its population of nearly 555,000 people, with a significant portion of the national budget invested in the project. In addition, a Dutch design company has proposed building 5,000 floating homes as another solution to provide housing for the people of Maldives.

These measures seem drastic, but Maldives is running out of time. As President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih warned world leaders at the 2021 UN Climate Conference in Scotland, “The difference between 1.5 degrees Celsius and 2 degrees Celsius is a death sentence for. Maldives.” This is not a new plea for help – a decade ago, Solih’s predecessor, Mohammed Nasheed, even organized an underwater cabinet meeting to discuss the situation and propose relocating the entire population to Australia for safety.

The artificial island named Hulhumalé (meaning “Hope” in the local language) is being rapidly constructed by pumping sand from the ocean floor, and is elevated nearly 2 meters above sea level. People from all over Maldives are being relocated to the high-rise buildings on the island to escape rising sea levels, with a second twin island also being built.

“Two-thirds of the population can live on these two main islands,” said Ismail Shan Rasheed, planning strategist at the Hulhumale Development Corporation.

In many ways, Hulhumale is like a city in simulation games such as SimCity. It has everything from parks and apartments to mosques and shops, ice rinks and sidewalks, schools and roads – all built in a tidy coastal town connected to the capital Male in 2018 via a long bridge.