Rising sea levels due to man made climate change are now sinking whole islands, five of them in fact, from the small, sovereign country of Solomon Islands, located in the South Pacific, near Papua New Guinea and Australia, according to a new study.

This dramatic change in the tropical nation, located in the Pacific Ocean of a little more than 500,000 citizens, has been constantly plagued by these rising sea levels, transforming their landscape in recent years.

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The effects are adverse to say the least, where ten houses in one island washed away at sea in between 2011 and 2014. These changes are now detailed in this new study, asserting that rising sea levels are making the Solomon Islands disappear, which is mainly caused by a continuously warming planet.

This Australian research conducted by scientists from University of Queensland, also considers that these implications can have repercussions across the pristine shores of Oceania as well. According to top NASA climate scientist, James Hansen, an estimated several meters rise of sea levels can be seen in the next century, which can decimate and cause coastal communities and cities to disappear, if this occurs.  

This is not only evident in smaller tropical islands but also across the United States. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, they determined that the wetlands in Louisiana are disappearing in an unprecedented rate, similar to a football field every hour. According to an interactive map created by Climate Central, South Florida and the Carolinas including Jersey Shore are also threatened, where they are slated to lose land masses due to sea level rise.

This new study about the Solomon Islands provides a glimpse about how sea level rise can affect coastal regions in the next coming years, which is mostly driven by how fast the erosion process is occurring due to an accelerated effect of synergistic interaction by surrounding waves.

Researchers also say that there are now additional village relocations across the islands, such as Taro, which is set to become the first provincial capital in the world to relocate its residents and services due to threatening sea level rise.

This new study is published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

Tagssolomon islands, global warming, Climate Change, pacific islands, rising sea levels