365 Days of Climate Awareness 226 – Introduction to the Maldives

The Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean (behind the Pacific and Atlantic), covering almost 20% of the earth’s surface. It contains many thousands of islands and there is no realistic way to address them all in this series (or it would become more like the 365,000 Days of Climate Awareness). Besides, the climate issues faced by coralline islands (and volcanic islands too) worldwide are very consistent. Sea-level rise is the paramount issue for land which averages less than 2 m elevation above mean water level.

The Maldives in the Indian Ocean.

It’s estimated that there are more than 670,000 islands worldwide, including oceans, lakes and rivers. And there are, at present, 195 countries. Though I’m American and this series has clearly focused mostly on the United States, the sheer range and number of locations around the earth prohibit looking at each one. Furthermore, there is the question of resources.

Closer-up map of the Maldives island chain.

The wealthy, industrialized countries—the ones most responsible for this growing climate crisis—are the ones with the most lavish and advanced scientific study capacities. As we’ve seen in the case of a country like the Philippines, their climate monitoring systems are limited compared to those of the United States, and in fact frequently borrow from them (NOAA is a worldwide source of information, for the public, scientists and other governments alike). The often astoundingly detailed climate monitoring data available through NOAA and NASA simply don’t exist in most other parts of the planet. So to speak, the resolution of our image is not uniform around the globe. Given the limitations of this space, and the limitations of available information, we’ll continue our somewhat orderly hopscotch looking at climate realities around the planet.

Malé, the Maldives' capital.

The Maldives are an archipelagic nation roughly 750 km/470 mi southwest of India, consisting of 1,190 islands grouped into 26 atolls atop the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge southwest of the Indian mainland. It is the smallest nation in Asia, the islands covering 298 km²/115 mi²,  and it extends from almost 7°N to 1°S latitude, at 73° east longitude. As much as 10,000 years ago coral reefs began growing on the shallowest parts, resulting in the Maldives chain. The islands average 1.5 m above sea level, with a maximum height of 5.1 m, making it the lowest-lying country on earth, and therefore especially vulnerable to sea-level rise.  

A few islands in the Maldives chain.

The Maldives has a population of roughly 560,000, nearly all native Maldivians. There is quite a range in theorized dates when the islands were first settled, from 3300 to 500 BCE. Early artifacts show influence from India. Culturally society was Buddhist for much of its existence, until Muslim traders in the 11^th century effected its transition to Islam. In the 1500’s the Portuguese attempted to colonize and Christianize the islands, but were driven out. The Dutch later assumed power but largely left the Maldives alone, until they were replaced in Ceylon by the British in 1796. After a politically turbulent 20^th century, in 1968 the Republic of Maldives declared its independence.

Tomorrow: sea level rise and the Maldives

Be brave, and be well.