World's narrowest island capital just 150 metres wide could disappear beneath rising seas, World Bank warns

Image Credit: By Christopher Michel from San Francisco, USA - JJ7V2741.jpg, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34439858 Majuro Atoll, the capital of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is often described as a narrow coral ribbon situated between the vast Pacific Ocean and a serene lagoon. To a casual observer, it is a tropical heaven of stunning beauty with deep cultural roots. However, this thin strip of land is facing a serious crisis that threatens its very survival.As one of the lowest-lying nations on Earth, with an average elevation of just two metres, the Marshall Islands are at the frontline of global climate change. Recent research from the ‘World Bank and Lund University’ has highlighted the growing dangers of rising sea levels and coastal erosion. These studies don’t just provide data; they visualise a future where the sea taking over the land is not a rare possibility but a near reality for thousands of people.Why is the geography of Majuro so vulnerable to the oceanTo understand the threat, we must look at the unique shape of the land. Majuro consists of 64 tiny islands made of coral reefs that encircle a massive lagoon. It is a strip of land ...