While it might be getting the media coverage, New Moore Island is just one of dozens that are sinking to the sea. Situated between India and Bangladesh, New Moore Island has long been the topic of a diplomatic dispute between the two countries. Bangladesh residents that live on some of these islands have long since taken a short term loan to live on drier shores, but the issue is not improving. The rising sea has claimed more than just New Moore Island, but the media is bringing the issue back to light.
New Moore Island by any other name
New Moore Island is a relatively small piece of disputed land – less than 3 square miles. The government of India maintains that New Moore Island is within their ocean borders and is hence theirs. Conversely, the government of Bangldesh also claims the island, which they call South Talpatti. Residents of either country have never built a permanent settlement on the island. The island actually came into dispute only about 40 years ago, when New Moore Island / South Talpatti appeared after the Bhola cyclone. International opinion on the island is split, though India did once establish a base on South Talpatti / New Moore Island.
Rising sea levels engulf New Moore Island
As reported by the BBC, the School of Oceanographic Studies in Calcutta has officially found New Moore Island to be submerged by sea water. Affirmed by local fishermen and satellite pictures, New Moore Island is officially no more. Before 2000, average yearly sea level rose at about 3mm per year, but in the last decade that has gone up to 5mm per year. Where New Moore Island sits, in the Sundarban Island Chain, sea levels are increasing at the rate of 3.14 centimeters a year. Four islands of the Sundarban chain sunk before New Moore Island.
New Moore Island isn’t the only sinker
New Moore Island and the Sundarban Island chains are not the only islands at risk of sinking into the ocean. For years, an island nation known as the Maldives has been losing ground. The highest point in the Maldives is only 8 feet above ocean level, so even a high tide can create problems for citizens. The Maldives government has been building Hulhumale, a fabricated island nearby, for residents to evacuate to if needs be. Tuvalu, a Pacific Ocean island between Hawaii and Austrailia, is also fast losing land mass. There are 11,000 residents of Tuvalu, all of whom can be without a home in as little as 50 years. 75 residents of Tuvalu can use military personal loans to move to New Zealand each year, but that is far from all of them. Other nations at risk of sinking like New Moore Island include Tonga, Kirbati, and the Marshall Islands.
Can the islands be saved?
In the end, there is no way to accurately measure the cause and effect of small islands ending up in the ocean. Sea levels rise and fall regularly, and island land masses can also rise and sink on their own. Some say the sea levels are rising because of climate change, others because of normal climate variations. No matter who or what is to blame, though, island nations that are sinking are being forced to find solutions – because there is not yet a way to simply stop the rise and fall of an island in the ocean.
