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Last updated on August 6th, 2017 at 01:23 pm
The BBC’s David Willis visits the Alaskan isle of Shishmaref, “a community that is being destroyed by climate change”:
Shishmaref is a community that is literally being swallowed by the sea.
Village elder Tony Weyiouanna estimates the tide moves an average of 10 feet (three metres) closer to the land every year.
Two homes have already toppled into the sea, others have wilted and buckled and now teeter ominously at the cliff’s edge.
Tony told me that since I was last here the village had decided – very reluctantly – to relocate …
The impact of global warming is vivid. Just ask the people of Shishmaref.
Here’s something else to ask: why do people keep moving there?
Through the 90’s Shishmaref’s population has grown by about 23%. It is estimated that in recent years Shishmaref’s population has been declining at an annual rate of less than one percent.
