Comparing the locations of key internet data centers and cable routes with maps of expected sea-level rise suggests it’s time to shore up internet connections in the face of a changing climate.
A key question heading into the Pacific Islands Forum is whether Australia can negotiate a new regional security agreement that heeds Pacific leaders’ concerns.
Many US coastal towns are building defenses to protect against rising seas and storms. This can encourage people to stay in place when they should be moving inland.
Cities around the world, including Toronto, are building housing on flood plains knowing the risks in the era of climate change. Here’s why that will contribute to growing inequality in our cities.
Last summer one of Antarctica’s floating ice shelves calved an iceberg the size of Delaware – but scientists say other less dramatic changes reveal more about how and why Antarctica is changing.
Australia faces many security issues driven by climate change, including more international migration and an increase in defence personnel being sent on disaster relief missions, a Senate inquiry has found.
Climate change is transforming the Arctic, with impacts on the rest of the planet. A geographer explains why he once doubted that human actions were causing such shifts, and what changed his mind.
There is plenty of debate over what route was taken by the first people to reach Australia. New research reveals a likely route through a now submerged chain of islands.
Long-term climate modelling may appear to focus on the impossibly far future. But the full impact of some climate processes won’t be apparent for centuries.
King tides and rising seas are an increasing and predictable threat, but adaptation plans to limit the damage to coastal property are still not managing the political obstacles.
As Earth’s climate warms, mangroves are expanding north and south from tropical zones. Mangroves reinforce shorelines and store huge quantities of carbon, so protecting them is an effective climate strategy.
Climate change is raising global sea levels. Now research shows that ‘hot spots’ where seas rise another 4 to 5 inches in five years can occur along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, further magnifying floods.
New Zealand’s plan to create the world’s first humanitarian visa for climate refugees has to consider ways people from Pacific Island nations actually want to be assisted.
To many people, island nations such as Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Marshall Islands are synonymous with climate catastrophe. But prophesies of doom aren’t all that helpful.
In 1850, the Micronesian island of Nahlapenlohd was the scene of Pohnpei state’s first battle involving cannons and muskets. Less than two centuries later, it has sunk beneath the waves.
Steven Cork, Australian National University et Kate Auty, The University of Melbourne
Australia is good at ‘hard hat’ responses to crises such as cyclones. But a new environmental declaration on the Pacific Islands points out that the best approach is more well-rounded and subtle.
Due to rising sea levels, low-lying island nations are in immediate danger. If drastic measures are taken, this disastrous trend can be transformed into an opportunity for sustainable development.