Climate change threatens Maldives
The Maldives is made up of 1,191 islands
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Tuesday, 03, Oct 2006 01:08
The Maldives could become flooded due to climate change, the country's president has warned.
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom said that his concerns are rooted in present-day evidence, as there are already indicators there sea levels are rising.
Speaking on the Today programme, Mr Gayoom said that as well as his fears that the country will be flooded, he is concerned that coral reefs surrounding the islands could be damaged.
"We are a very low-lying island nation," he said. "If the seas are going to rise, it will cause a great threat to the survival of my country.
"On average our land rise is a mere four to five feet above sea-level, and in case of any rise in sea-level that would be quite a big threat to our country."
He added: "Our records show that during the past decade the sea on average in the Maldives has risen by one millimetre every year; that means one centimetre in ten years."
Rather than focusing efforts on creating an evacuation plan for the country, Mr Gayoom said that his nation is instead urging the international community to "work very urgently towards stopping global warming".
His comments come as ministers from the world's top 20 polluters are meeting in Mexico in an attempt to curb global warming.