What if 3000 years of your history were going underwater? This is about to happen in Kiribati.

Kiribati, pronounced kee-ree-bas, is a nation of 33 islands in the South Pacific and 117,791 people.

The Kiribati Islands are about two to three meters above sea level. Because of this, scientists say that in the next 50 years, Kiribati could be underwater.

National Geographic reports that our oceans are taking in two times as much heat as in the year 2000. Also, 600 billion tons of ice are melting into the sea. This means sea levels are rising and shores are disappearing. If this continues, the ocean could cover whole islands in this century.

The Pacific Islands of Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, the Maldives, and Tuvalu are in the most danger.

Who is causing this?

Many people who aren’t affected by the climate crisis don’t think humans are causing it. Others are slow to do something about it. At the same time, island nations are suffering.

Last month, a group of Pacific Island nations made a statement. It says that pollution, ocean heat, melting ice, and rising sea levels are the main causes of the danger for the Pacific Islands.

It asks developed countries to meet the standards from the Kyoto Protocols of 1997.

Most importantly, it asks everyone to wake up and do something. Real lives, real families, and real cultures depend on it. People must choose to make a change in order to save our world cultures.

Developed countries, it’s up to you.

If we continue to pollute as much as we are now – knowing how bad this is – we will be accepting the loss of Kiribati and other island nations.

I leave you the words of people from Kiribati and activists:

“Anywhere else in the world, it is a luxury to live by the sea. In Kiribati, it means that you are the first to be without a home.”

Marita Davies
I-Kiribati Climate Activist
thelittleislandthatcould.com

“Tell people about us. We want people to fall in love with us… We just want the world to know we were here. For however long, we want you to know our name—Kiribati.”

“We might be gone, but you people living on higher ground have something to fight for.”

I-Kiribati Climate Activist
Citizens’ Climate Lobby
National Conference 2019

“I’ve heard that other countries are causing climate change, but I don’t hate those people… All I can do is ask them to stop.”

Grandmother and granddaughter from
Kiribati’s largest atoll, Tarawa
Kiribati: A DW Documentary

“We are from Kiribati. We are proud to be Kiribas. We want to die here. We don’t want to go overseas. We want to stay here. When we move our culture will disappear.”

Kaboa, Kiribati citizen, Abayang
Kiribati: A DW Documentary

“I wouldn’t imagine my people leaving to another country that is not theirs because we have a very deep connection with our land. But moving away to somewhere that does not belong to you, you will always become a second-class citizen because in your heart you always know you will not belong there.”

Pelenise Alofa,
Founder of KiriCAN
Kiribati Climate Action Network
Kiribati: A DW Documentary

• nation: n. a country

• heat: n. hot temperatures

• to melt: v. to become liquid because of heat

• to rise: v. to go up (in height, numbers, etc.)

• shore: n. the land along the edge of the ocean

• to disappear: v. to stop being; to be erased or deleted

• century: n. one hundred years

• affected: adj. to be reached or touched by a situation

• climate: n. weather

• crisis: n. a time of extreme difficulty, trouble, or danger

• to cause: v. to make happen

• statement: n. a report or announcement

• pollution: n. a formal announcement

• developed country: n. a country with more money and technology

• standard: n. rule, code, requirement

• to depend: v. to need, to rely on

• to pollute: v. to make the air dirty

• loss: n. losing something

• activist: n. a person who works to make political or social change

• luxury: n. pleasure, comfort, and richness

• second-class citizen: n. a person who is treated differently and badly