WMO: 50,000 Pacific islanders a year risk climate-related displacement

By the Climate Centre

“Unprecedented ocean warming engulfed the South-West Pacific” last year – a region where more than half the population live near the coast, the World Meteorological Organization has said.

Its State of the Climate in the South-West Pacific 2024 report, which the WMO published yesterday – the penultimate day of the GPDRR meeting in Geneva – says sea-surface temperatures were the highest on record and deeper ocean heat was at near-record levels.

“Ocean warming contributes to sea-level rise and alters ocean currents. It also indirectly alters storm tracks, increases ocean stratification, and can lead to changes in marine ecosystems,” the report explains.

On land, it says, “extreme heat and rainfall caused deadly and devastating impacts. A record-breaking streak of tropical cyclones hit the Philippines, whilst the last remaining tropical glacier in Indonesia’s New Guinea headed closer to extinction.”

WMO warns it’s “estimated that each year, at least 50,000 Pacific islanders face the risk of displacement due to the adverse effects of climate change.”

‘Villagers are running out of adaptation options’

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said yesterday: “Ocean heat and acidification combined to inflict long-lasting damage to marine ecosystems and economies. Sea-level rise is an existential threat to entire island nations. It is increasingly evident that we are fast running out of time to turn the tide.”

The report includes a case study on what happened to the small village on Fiji’s Serua island, where over the past two decades coastal erosion and flooding have submerged houses, destroyed the seawall and washed away fertile soil.

“Villagers are running out of adaptation options, with building of seawalls, plantation of mangroves, and improvement of drainage systems no longer being viable,” the WMO report says, adding that simple evacuation is not always straightforward.

“The Government of Fiji has offered support for the islanders to relocate, but many are choosing to stay because of the concept of vanua, which translates literally as ‘land’, embodying the profound connection between the indigenous communities and their ancestral lands.”

Fiji Red Cross volunteers erect tents and distribute emergency aid to families affected by Tropical Cyclone Winston in a remote village. The Category 5 cyclone hit Fiji on 20 February 2016, killing scores of people and displacing thousands. It’s “estimated that each year, at least 50,000 Pacific islanders face the risk of displacement due to the adverse effects of climate change,” WMO warns. (Photo: Fiji Red Cross visa IFRC)