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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Environment
Prianka Srinivasan

Low-lying Pacific islands pin hopes on UN meeting as sea rise threatens survival

Kiribati is among the countries most at risk from sea level rise.
A high-level UN meeting this week will address the impact of rising seas on low-lying countries such as Kiribati. Photograph: Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket/Getty Images

The Pacific country of Kiribati might be surrounded by water, but on land its population is running dry. The ocean around them is steadily encroaching, contaminating underground wells and leeching salt into the soil.

“Our waters have been infected,” climate activist and law student Christine Tekanene says. “Those who are affected, they now can’t survive with the water that changed after sea level rise.”

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