Over a third of Tuvalu's population has applied for Australia's climate visa, as rising sea levels threaten to submerge the Pacific nation within decades.
More than one-third of the people in Tuvalu have applied for a new climate visa to migrate to Australia, according to official figures, highlighting the existential threat posed by rising sea levels to the Pacific nation.
Tuvalu’s ambassador to the UN, Tapugao Falefou, told Reuters he was "startled by the huge number of people vying for this opportunity". The small island community is eager to know who will become the first recognised climate migrants under the scheme.
Tuvalu, with a population of around 11,000 spread across nine low-lying atolls between Australia and Hawaii, is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. Scientists say sea level rise, driven by global warming, poses a severe risk to its survival.
Since applications opened this month under Australia’s visa lottery scheme, 1,124 individuals have registered. Including family members, the total number seeking to migrate has reached 4,052, under the Falepili Union treaty signed in 2023.
Applications close on 18 July, with an annual cap of 280 visas to ensure the country does not face a damaging brain drain. The visa will allow Tuvalu residents to live, work, and study in Australia, and they will gain access to health services and education similar to Australian citizens.
"Moving to Australia under the Falepili Union treaty will in some way provide additional remittance to families staying back," said Ambassador Falefou.
NASA scientists project that by 2050, daily tides could submerge half of Funafuti, Tuvalu's main atoll where 60 percent of its residents live. Villagers there already inhabit land strips as narrow as 20 metres wide. The worst-case scenario of a 2-metre sea level rise could leave 90 percent of Funafuti underwater.
Tuvalu's mean elevation is just two metres above sea level. Over the past three decades, the country has experienced a sea-level rise of 15 centimetres, one and a half times the global average.
In response, Tuvalu has built seven hectares of artificial land and is planning further reclamation projects, hoping these will remain above water until at least 2100.
The Australian visa programme marks one of the world’s first structured migration pathways for people displaced by climate change impacts, setting a precedent for other threatened island nations in the Pacific.
On Monday (8 September), two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Police described the incident as a “terrori...
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has proposed the creation of a unicameral parliament in the country. Speaking to the nation on Monday at the pa...
U.S. defence secretary Pete Hegseth and joint chiefs of staff chairman Dan Caine made a surprise visit to Puerto Rico on Monday, marking the first tri...
Diplomatic tensions between Spain and Israel have escalated sharply, with Madrid recalling its ambassador from Tel Aviv on Monday. The move came after...
In the pre-dawn darkness of Funafuti atoll, 16-year-old Teleke Palani races across a coral causeway as spring tide waters creep across the pavement, her phone capturing the encroaching sea that threatens to swallow her homeland whole.
For the first time, Tuvalu’s residents can access cash and make card payments locally, following the launch of the country's first ATMs and point-of-sale terminals.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A powerful eruption at Japan’s Shinmoedake volcano sent an ash plume more than 3,000 metres high on Sunday morning, prompting safety warnings from authorities.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
The UK is gearing up for Exercise Pegasus 2025, its largest pandemic readiness test since COVID-19. Running from September to November, this full-scale simulation will challenge the country's response to a fast-moving respiratory outbreak.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
Pakistan’s eastern towns of Chiniot and Hafizabad are at risk of devastating floods if an irrigation barrage on a major upstream river collapses after torrential rains pushed it beyond capacity, officials warned on Thursday.
Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain have signed an agreement with China to jointly develop a $220 million solar energy project.
A deadly landslide triggered by heavy rain struck a major Hindu pilgrimage route in Jammu, killing at least 30 people and disrupting communication across the region.
Wind farm developer Orsted's plan to raise much-needed capital is at risk following a U.S. order to halt construction of a near-complete project, and the Danish group's share price could come under pressure on Monday, analysts said.
Brazil’s government has ruled out subsidising hotel costs for delegates attending the COP30 climate summit in Belém this November, despite growing concerns over soaring accommodation prices.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment