Tuvalu is a small independent nation made up of a chain of nine reefs and atolls in the Polynesian region of the South Pacific. The word Tuvalu itself means, “eight standing together” referring to the eight populated islands in the group. The islands are the result of coral reefs which have formed around the peaks of a series of underwater mountains created by volcanic eruptions.

With less than 12,000 inhabitants, Tuvalu has the third smallest population of any independent country. In Staffordshire this would be equivalent to a town the size of Uttoxeter. It is also the fourth smallest by area at 26 km². Its whole land mass would fit into Stafford!

Its principal island is an atoll, Funafuti, which includes the government’s administrative buildings and the airport. Funafuti is only 400 metres at its widest point and is home to approximately half of Tuvalu’s population. 

The Science of Climate Change

In its latest report the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC Fourth Assessment Report) states that there is a high confidence that global warming is leading to sea level rise.  This is due to a series of factors including:

• Thermal expansion. As atmospheric greenhouse gases become more concentrated, more heat energy is trapped in the atmosphere. This energy is transferred to the ocean, causing it to warm and expand.
• Ice melt. Rising air temperatures cause mountain glaciers and ice sheets to melt, sending the resulting melt water into the sea. For example, if the Greenland Ice Sheet was to melt, this alone would lead to a 7metre rise in sea levels.
• Ocean current variations. Pan-ocean currents, for example the Gulf Stream, are the main method of heat energy transport from equatorial waters to cooler, higher latitudes. However, these are subject to natural variations; probably the most well-known system is El Nino, which moves vast quantities of water from one side of the southern Pacific to the other every three to four years.
• Topography. The combination of ocean currents and atmospheric pressure systems means that the oceans are not flat. Data gathered by satellites show height variations that exceed two metres (see Ocean Topography map directly below).

 The International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that:

 “Small islands, whether located in the tropics or higher latitudes, have characteristics which make them especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, sea level rise and extreme events.

IPCC WGII – p689

Tuvalu and Climate Change

As nowhere in Tuvalu is above 5 metres high it is widely considered to be at risk from rising sea levels. This could, ultimately, result in the islands needing to be evacuated. This will mean that Tuvaluans will be counted amongst the first refugees of climate change. Tuvalu is often popularly cited as the one of the first sovereign nations that could disappear due to climate change.

"We live in constant fear of the adverse impacts of climate change. For a coral atoll nation, sea level rise and more severe weather events loom as a growing threat to our entire population. The threat is real and serious, and is of no difference to a slow and insidious form of terrorism against us."

• The highest annual tide, known locally as the King Tide, can be 3 metres higher than normal and make large areas too salty for agriculture. 
• The area of the South Pacific in which Tuvalu is situated has a particularly high sea level: almost a metre higher than sea level elsewhere in the world.
• Much of Tuvalu is formed on coral reefs which, being porous, allow inland areas to become inundated from beneath and not just around the coast. The coral reefs which help protect the shore from the worst effects of the sea are also very susceptible to damage by extreme events such as tropical cyclones and El Niño events.
• As is typical of many small islands, much of Tuvalu’s key infrastructure is situated close to the coast. For example the runway of the airport is at high risk of inundation, meaning that Tuvalu would in effect be cut off from the outside world.
• Tuvalu has very few natural resources. It no longer has any fresh groundwater and is now dependant on rainwater and a desalination plant installed after the 1998 El Niño.
• Rising sea levels have already resulted in an internal migration to the main atoll of Funafuti, which now hosts over half the Tuvaluan population. This is resulting in overcrowding putting increasing pressure on the island's scant resources.