3 October 2011 | Alan Bouquet
Climate Change, Water, Australia

 

Funafuti Beach, Tuvalu

The small nation state of Tuvalu, one of the pacific states under threat from sea level rise as a result of climate change is suffering from a severe drought and could run out of clean drinking water by Tuesday. Locals are beginning to turn to ground water supplies which are feared contaminated after a spate of animal deaths.

New Zealand is currently supplying the island with water supplies and desalinisation equipment to get them through the emergency, but rains are not forecast until December due to the La Nina circulation pattern in the pacific. The island normally receives an average of 300mm rainfall a month.

Secretary General Tataua Pefe has warned against drinking well water, "It's not safe for consumption," he told Radio Australia. "Some animals have died recently and we think it's because of subterranean water." He went on to say that it has not rained in the nation for 6 months.

Whilst not directly caused by climate change, this incident could well be a sign of things to come, as sea levels rise and the freshwater gets contaminated. When this happens, it will no longer be able to live on the islands.

Tuvalu is described as a least economically developed country by the UN due to its few resources, lack of tourism opportunities and its vulnerability to environmental problems. It relies on both capital and monetary contributions from larger states and its exploitation of the ‘.tv’ and ‘900’ area code.

blog comments powered by Disqus