Kiribati: The Sinking Islands Being Destroyed By Climate Change | AJ+ Docs 

I was born in kiribati and I just can't help crying when i see that it will be gone soon. I was planning to go back to visit when I grow up

I am trying to understand the so-called Global Warming. If Global Warming is causing the islands to flood, why are the water levels in the Gulf of Mexico still the same as when I was a child? I am now 54 years old and trying to understand how water that is connected will rise only in certain areas. Could the disappearing islands be caused by too much sand taken from the oceans and the oceans are refilling itself with the islands??? Makes more sense to me. In 1973, we used a dirt road in Mobile Alabama to reach one of our fishing areas. The road and that area was only 2' above sea level. Today that road and fishing area are still only 2' above sea level. Help me understand this???

Thank you for uploading, i'm from Kiribati and part asian, but still i grew up in kiribati, and i am still here, i love my home island ❤️❤️❤️

This is so sad, I feel like more should be done to save Kiribati and its beautiful people

At 1:41 where the man sounded like he was saying "papaya beach", he is in fact saying "bwaibwai" pits. The "bwaibwai" pronounced as "papai" is a Gilbertese word for "swamp taro".

I am part Kiribati. My mom's dad is from the island of Tarawa. With this said, I share their struggle. It is my hope as a Christian that they will find more lands (in the hearts of men) in whichever foreign countries to live on. May God bless my words. I pray amen. Bless all of you who read my comment!

It's really a shame that few people know about it and few people fight for Kiribati. I've looked around Facebook and all the Internet, but I haven't found any trace of ongoing international support for Kiribati's cause. It's not reasonable to think that climate change might stop overnight, but still the cause definitely needs more audience and I feel like we should do anything we can to help Kiribati

I travel frequently to the Marshall Islands. I've witnessed changes in Majuro Atoll, where I go to, in the last 4-5 years, due to king tides and also rogue waves. It is incredible to witness the power of nature. I agree with them, it is no longer a question of "if" but one of "when" these many peoples will lose their home land.

Lets try to look at some facts for a change. The Hawaiian archipelago is a string of volcanic islands produced in a similar fashion to Kiribati. Volcanic pressure pushes up on the earth crust until it punctures through and produces an island which grows until the pressure stops along with growth, and the island starts to weather and degrade. The high point on Hawaii island, the youngest island is the volcano Mauna Kea 13,803' above sea-level, on Maui the next youngest is 10023' Kawai 5280' so on out to Midway island the oldest with a height about the same as Kiribati. Does anybody notice a trend?? The reasons for this are the same, volcanos are heavy when the pressure is gone they start to sink back into the crust, remember that the ocean floor is thousands of feet below sea-level actually from its base Mauna Kea is 33000' the tallest mountain in the world! -- so it's big and heavy. Along with the sinking over time they start to chemically degrade actually even rust due to high iron content, they breakdown fall apart and wash away into the ocean until nothing is left except for the corals that grow on top as it drops below the water line, but with man stomping all over the corals along with pollution the corals will die and no sand is produced and then everything will just sink totally. I am not saying that there is not global sea rise, maybe some but not as fast as some want you to think. If the sea is rising it will show everywhere the same amount not one location. King tide is a new scare word popular now, but nothing new just the same old spring high tides that happen every year.

God bless them all. Stay strong..

Their president looks and sounds like Morgan Freeman.

They may be able to land fill like they did in Funafuti - pump crushed coral onto the land and build it up. The sea level was about 40m lower than this approx 8000 years ago - the Tuvalu island of Nanumaga has the legendary fire caves 40m below that were once lived in around 8000 years ago - well dated back that far anyway. When I first visited Funafuti it was 2meters above sea level. As of last year with the projects parts are now 4 meters above sea level. I was there while the coral was being pumped - amazing what can be accomplished against mother nature's cycles.

Guys, build with Lime, CaO cast inside the ocean. It already proven in Pozzouli, near Napoli, Italy. Their walls are under the sea water, pounded by waves every minute for at least 2,000 years, still standing until now. I am with Saddleback PEACE plan an International Christian NGO, but I am heading to Indonesia to save their lands. I am going to build floating houses for them. Theoretically, I could save your area with EPS or Bio Polyurethane foam, but I couldn't do it alone. I am willing to share the technology and work with other NGOs.

you got countries in the world reclaiming land from the oceans and you got countries losing land to the ocean kiribati can be saved but the resources are not there for this country to do it on its own

I recently watched another documentary which showed areas in Kiribati, which are not going underwater, but instead are being built up with a change in tides. Lagoons filling in and such. I am a firm believer in climate change, but I hope that everyone is fairl and thorough in their reporting, so that it can be tackled with real and solid information.

Isn't it now fact that sea levels are NOT rising, but islands like Kiribati are actually sinking ???

I'd like to propose that what's happening to Kiribati is due to land overuse: the fresh water table that naturally existed below the surface of the island has been (relatively) quickly drained by the population for drinking and for agriculture, this has effectively deflated the island itself and contributed to erosion.

One of the fundamental tenants of hydrology is that water seeks its own level. How is it then that Kiribati is inundated with "rising sea levels" yet other locations on the planet are not seeing the same effect? For example, the Florida Keys are only 3 feet above sea level yet for at least 50 years there has been no inundation there were I personally travel. And what about the Dutch? 2/3 of the land area would be subject to flooding, yet no one is concerned about a major European country. Clearly, these volcanic islands are subducting, not drowning due to sea level increases. I would like the author of this video to explain this rather than using mere pictures as possible raison d'état.

Excellent documentary! Thanks for posting!!

what beautiful people

This is an excellent report, but just a correction to the subtitles. When they are discussing the flooded area on Abaiang, it is transcribed as 'this whole area used to be papaya beach', but what he actually says is that it used to be 'papaye pits'. This is important because what he is saying is that the whole area which is now flooded used to be giant taro (papaye) gardens (pits). Giant taro is the staple food there, so now there is less land to grow the staple crop on.

Hey I don't doubt the sincerity of the Lady in this film, but if rising sea levels were to blame on this island, then we would see this effect elsewhere in different types of coastal areas and we're NOT. Case in point: SanFrancisco Bay - I was just down in Palo Alto driving near the mud flats at the south end of the bay, which are DIRECTLY connected to the bay and to the Pacific Ocean. Guess what? They're still there - they haven't been flooded. How is this possible if the poles are melting?

Let's hope they *plant mangrove trees* and build floating platforms behind the trees.

im kiribati from new zeland

Kiribati what a beauty.

save my family back in kiribati

In the 1960s and early 1970s I lived with the relocated Gilbert islanders in Ghizo in the village of Titiana in the western Solomon Islands from the age of 8 to 12 years old my parents were self funded missionaries My Dad was the Manager and accountant for Burns Philips and also managed the wharf he employed a hundred or so Gilbert Men in the business as a New Zealander of Maori decent I learnt the language and was a part of the Island dancing group , I learnt how to climb coconut trees and milk the resin for Kiribati tea went shark hunting at night and sat with all the other children listening to the village Sharman as he told stories of the home lands now called Kiribati , When my family was repatriated to go back to New Zealand a group of Elders their wives and children wept and begged my parents to let them adopt me and stay . I am now 58 years old all my life I have wanted to go back but never have I still remember the action songs and the hand and leg movements , this documentary has made me home sick once again for my Kiribati family in the western Solomon Islands when I retire I will return I wonder if they will remember me

Really beautiful place

No island lasts forever. That's a climate fact.

Soo many Construction workers in the USA out of work... They could build sea walls so easily, So quick... It's sad where our government's priorities lie.. They would rather destroy then build. It is becoming a sickness.

I feel sorry for anyone under threat of nature and having to leave their home and lives. 40 years ago in geography classes in schools it was taught that the planet earth had from the beginning of time and over millennia, warmed and cooled in a cyclical manner, and currently we were coming out of an ice age. All of a sudden the story seems to have changed and it is anthropological reasons to blame for what has always happened. The fact that an attempt to circumnavigate history in relation to the climate using the words "THE SCIENCE IS SETTLED" seems far from the truth and a great big gaping hole is left !

Well Andrew when I was a young boy we did get king tides. They would come into our tidal river and flood the boat sheds, to the point that the salty smell permeated the sheds for weeks after. The king tide would come over the top of the tidal baths. The low tide during the time of the king tide was accentuated as well. So as the tide receded all that was left n the baths was about six inches of water in the bottom corner. When the baths had water over the railings the water was nearly seven feet deep. King tides are orchestrated by the gravitational pull of the Sun and the Moon on the sea. When we are closest to both, then the pull is more significant. I could show you jetties under water and say the land is sinking as well. Just do not tell us you never had king tides when you were a boy because I am older than you and know the truth. Also, just for the record, islands have been growing and disappearing in our oceans for 100s of millions of years and will continue to do so long after we have gone. The only difference between now and a million years ago are that there are people on them now.

I would also like to point out that erosion, floods, drought, lack of freshwater, etc., aren't necessarily caused by CLIMATE: in the 20's and 30's, in the US, massive floods and droughts and dust storms were caused by OVERUSE of the land by MAN, not by CLIMATE, and not by man's CO2 emissions! I would direct you to Life Magazine’s History of the United States, 1933-1945 (p. 40):”The plundering of the land brought catastrophe to the East as well as the West. Water could not be absorbed by the bare and burned slopes of devastated Eastern forests or the sod-denuded grasslands; rain and melting snow ran off fast, overflowing river banks. Along with the dust storms the nation suffered the greater floods in its history. Much of Pittsburgh was inundated; the Potomac rose 26 feet at Washington and threatened government buildings; the Ohio took the lives of 900 people and drove 500,000 families from their homes.” Combined this with the drought and dust storms in the West, and you can start to see the effects of MAN, not by climate, but by his MIS-use of the land.

So just got back from Kiribati; everyone is happy and friendly and all of this fear mongering is amusing to them. The people that live here are well used to moving around when they ocean dictates. It's the flatest atoll on earth! Go visit instead of leaving sorrowful comments about their plight. The people here are too polite to tell the visiting climate alarmists to chill out.

Proud to be a Fijian

Biggest load of BS I have heard ..If they did not pull so much sand and stones off the beach thier land would not disappear the causeways are also to blame ..

You want us to cry when you are moving around using a big Suzuki outboard. Ice in north has been melting for centuries. Anyone check erosion, it takes very little water to move a lot of sand.

2:35 I love that guys voice, he could be a narrator

Garbage can raise the height if it's done correctly

Why do they still drive cars..

It is pronounced as "kiribas" because in gilbertese they dont have letter T

Wow is very sad to see in Kiribati pacific Island surrounding by waters. I hope alot of country saved Kiribati pacific Island and support the people living in Kiribati.

from India .my god bless all

As an engineer my initiative is to artificially raise that level to atleast more than 15 meters above the sea level. Here we need coastal engineer,structural engineer, Hydraulic engineer and Geotechnical engineer to build this place. Take one small island in Dubai as an example.

Are these islands eroding/ sinking ? Or are the water levels rising? You don't make this clear. More tax on the people (carbon) might be a hoax. ANY SHORE LINE WILL ERODE IF ABUSED BY MAN.

How much has the water level increased in Hawaii. Has the land level/elevation remained the same, and it's only the water elevation which has changed significantly? In other words has there been geologic subsidence due to earth crust sinkage?

Please save Kiribati.

Now,it’s much higher

Anna rocks!!! Awesome video!

This needs more views

Great documentary

Great presentation

I think it's really cool how you made this brief documentary. How did you start making a documentary like this and getting followers? I personally think you structured it really well and met with credential people, and I was very entertained watching it. I'm definitely going to check out some of your other videos.

could the cause be a sinking island because of the volcanic stem that made the island is breaking up? ... these small islands are the result of volcanic leaks ...

Injustice: islands who had nothing to do with warming the planet are the first to sink. They warm, others die. Of course their turn will come, but until it does, they continue to stall, to lie, to procrastinate, and to burn, burn, burn more coal.

Why they don't use a dredging ship to reclaim the costal line like it is done in different countries?

What such of healty teeth these people have!

Nonsense, islands come and go over the last gazillion years. Learn to live with an ever changing climate as you cannot stop it.

>"Kiriba-TEE" >Dislike >Close tab

Anyone here from A-Level geography?

the last iceage is still receding and until it stops the ocean will still be rising. this phenomenon has been researched extensively by the scientific community the sea level during the peak of the last iceage was 394 ft lower than today. these are proven facts by the scientific community.

as an iKiribati I don't see to worry about climate change. we are not sinking. I have seen higher tides when was a kid .

The Amerians and Japanese governments should remove every bits of rustic on the Kirirbatis and hold accountable for their actions. Its not climate change that causes that chaos.

what a beautiful island ! and it's people !

I really hope that it some way doesent get destroyed #SaveKiribati

I was studying about Tarawa Atoll. Now I am here.

If I go 1 mile from my house there are seashells 50 feet above sea level stuck in the side of a cliff. The world changes.

Thirty years ago when CC first became a debated issue in Kiribati we were told that Science said that Kiribati had 50 years left before it disappeared. Thirty years on we were told Kiribati had been given an extension of another 50 years. Now one of the commentators in this clip said (based on science) that Kiriibati has about a century or so left. Common guys make up your minds!! If you are not really sure say so because in the end as you all know nobody would no longer believe this story. I am not surprised that a growing number of locals are getting skeptical about CC and it has become something of joke to some ... and I dont blame them because they dont know or understand "the simple physics of CC" and with all the predictions changing all the time, how else do we expect them to react?

There used to be a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska. There used to be a land bridge between England and Europe. Both and now under hundreds of feet of water. There are hundreds of cities in the Mediterranean that are now under water. All that happened before humans had the ability to influence the climate. The earth has been warming for at least 10,000 years. It is not caused by human activities.

In INDIA you are Welcome

Building walls will just cause flooding when high water hits.You need to raise the land with imported stone ,sand, and soil, if possible.

I took the risk dealing with Austin to be in charge of my trade and finally end up with perfect testimony.his platform is amazing and very straightforward!!

The beach erosion at Kiribati - the sand has just been washed out into the ocean. Why not use dredging equipment to put the sand BACK? and instead of replacing the seawall by hand, put in some concrete?

How the heck can Kiribati have an intelligent, educated leader while we in the US have a bumbling fool?

Kiribati is an example for mangrove forest

Islands built on volcanic stems will in time deteriorate .. add all the sand you want ... when the stem goes ... so will the island ...

I have been going to the same beaches with buildings in the same exact place they were 60 years ago and have seen no evidence of rising seas. So I would like to know how is it that these islands are being flooded yet I see nore hear of any other places having the same problems. How is it that the ocean can rise in one place in the world yet no rise anywhere else? Is this part of the global warming, carbon emission hoax? Explain please. There are lots of islands in the world yet these are the only ones being flooded?

Kind of frustrating that the opening title pronounces the name wrong, but she seems to know how to say it during the content. Too bad, I almost wrote this piece off.

tHAnk u my geography test 2mowwow. Very helpful tnNJK U I pass with gds colours

Truely feel sorry for these people I wish that countries would actually do something to help.

Thank You, Well Done Reporting Bravo!

Love from INDIA

Kiribati is linked to Fiji, who should be vouching for them.

Kiribati will remain habitat for another a thousand years

Damn it! If only China, or the Dutch could lend their hand.

That trash may not even be from the island population. It could be from the mainland.

Its over my friends. There is nothing we can do.

Not sinking, The sea is rising.

A lot of false info

What a pile of bull droppings! I have a couple of questions. What molecule is required in the atmosphere for all plant life to grow and below 150ppm all plant life dies? How much CO2 in ppm is currently in the atmosphere? What is the highest level CO2 is believed to have reached? What is the most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere? Hint: The earth is covered mostly in it. If the temp goes up does the atmosphere hold more or less of this vapor? How much energy in the form of heat/temp is required to do a phase change for water from a liquid to a vapor? Answer: 2257KJ/kg (a lot). I hope you can see where I'm going with this. CO2 is required for all plant life on our planet. The more of it the better our planet does (within reason). People with an agenda usually money tell everyone CO2 is a pollutant when in reality it is LIFE! Water vapor is the molecule which controls the temp of our planet, not CO2, the more CO2 in the atmosphere the better the plants growth and in the volumes man is producing the planets temp is increasing very little if any. If the temp does rise, the water cycle controls the earths temp through the phase change, clouds and rain. This is the real inconvenient truth and real science. I have a back ground in thermodynamics and I can tell you global warming is one of the biggest lies ever perpetrated on a population. Just answer the above questions they are the easy ones.

did mangroves help to stop destroing of coast?

With regards to planning and solutions. Some shorelines and land that have been eaten by sea water should be filled with boulders and soils. Since kiribate has no high mountains or highlands that are supposed to be the source of land fill, maybe kiribate government should seek help to some nations to send to kiribati a volume of boulders and soils for land fill.

If the islands are rapidly disappearing, then why do they want to build luxury resorts there?

Crustal subsidence off of the mantle plumehead there.

Kia Orana from Cook Islands🇨🇰we are all pacific brothers and sister right! Will be more than happy if Yous choose to migrate here to the Cook Islands! Our living criteria are most likely the same so?

UN have repeatedly listen, foreign reporters reported a lot, pictures and motion pictures have described more.....nothing done much against these escalating king tides. A MUST of MUCH help is demanding here on our low islands

Only until it effect you, you will see the truth ,research if you want to prevent learning that way

A GIANT DA VINCI POWER WATER CLOCK WOULD LOOK COOL THEIR!

Is the island sinking of the water rising?

Off topic but does anybody know of good surf over there?