A new report from Australian researchers has revealed that five tiny Pacific islands have disappeared because of the rising seas and erosion.

The missing islands, part of the Solomon Archipelago, were not inhabited by human beings. There completely disappeared under water over the past seven decades, one drawing its last breath as recently as 2011. However, the six other islands were found to have seen swathes of land turn into sea, destroying entire villages.

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The study, which was published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, reviewed 33 islands using aerial and satellite imagery from 1947 to 2014 and combined it with historical insight and local knowledge. They discovered that the archipelago had seen sea levels rise as much as as 10mm (0.4in) every year for the past two decades.

The study is the first scientific confirmation of what residents in the Pacific have been saying for years – their islands are disappearing. The Solomon Islands are a sparsely populated archipelago of more than 900 islands that lie east of Papua New Guinea, and as low-lying islands are particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise.

The study was done by University of Queensland scientists Simon Albert, Alistair Grinham, and Badin Gibbes, University of the Sunshine Coast’s Javier Leon, John Church of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, and University of Wollongong’s Colin Woodroffe.

"The human element of this is alarming. Working alongside people on the frontline who have lost their family home -- that they've had for four to five generations -- it's quite alarming," said study's lead author Simon Albert of the University of Queensland.

One of the affected islands is Nuatambu, and it has seen serious coastal erosion as water levels rise; since 2011, 50-percent of its habitable land is gone, as are 11 of the houses that used to be on that land. There are said to be 25 families living on the island.

In addition, the study raises questions about the role of government in relocation planning, said a Solomon Islands official. The Solomon Islands was among the 175 nations who in April signed a global agreement reached in Paris to curb climate change.

Tagssolomon islands, Pacific Ocean, Climate Change, Paris Agreement, sea level, pacific islands