Funafuti, TUVALU

Tuvalu is a chain of islands and atolls in the Pacific, and is one of the countries most threatened by climate change. An atoll is the rim of an extinct volcano covered in coral. Monthly flooding in Funafuti, Tuvalu i s a regular occurrence during high tide making the locals them some of the most resilient spirited people I have ever met. The children told me stories of “when they were young” they used to picnic and swim on a small islet filled with coconut and palm trees with their families on the weekends. In their lifetime they have watched the islet slowly disappear under rising sea levels twice a day till it became just a pile of white sand.

The scientists predict Tuvalu will be under water by 2050. Meaning these children will lose their homeland and be displaced. The highest point on the Funafuti At o l l i s five met res above sea level . The thin strip of land drops off straight into the Pacific Ocean and within the atoll is the crystal blue waters of a calm lagoon.