Fiji will experience at least six inches (15 centimetres) of sea level rise in the next 30 years, according to an analysis by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sea level change science team. Other countries in the Pacific which will be affected are Tuvalu and Kiribati, and scientists state this amount of rise will occur regardless of whether greenhouse gas emissions change in the coming years.
“NASA’s new flood tool tells you what the potential increase in flooding frequency and severity look like in the next decades for the coastal communities of the Pacific Island nations,” said Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, who directs ocean physics programs for NASA’s Earth Science Division.
NASA scientists have built flood maps for Kiribati, Tuvalu, Fiji, Nauru, and Niue and forecast areas of Tuvalu that currently see less than five high-tide flood days a year could average 25 flood days annually by the 2050s.
“We’re always focused on the differences in sea level rise from one region to another, but in the Pacific, the numbers are surprisingly consistent,” said Ben Hamlington, a sea level researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
NASA states the impacts of 6 inches (15 centimetres) of sea level rise will vary from country to country.
