Tidal floods, rising sea levels and other climate disasters have triggered alarm bells in places susceptible to rising seas. Get to these destinations before global warming does

Tip of the globe A beach in Kiribati | Photo Credit: Raimon Kataotao

Kiribati is a drowning nation that is well aware of its fate. Comprising 33 atolls in the Pacific Ocean, the country is at the quietly determined forefront of the global climate change battle. Already hit by destructive tidal surges, Kiribati is staring at increasing erosion and eventual inundation of causeways and water salination, according to a World Bank study. In an article titled ‘A Remote Pacific Nation, threatened by rising seas’ The New York Times journalist Mike Ives, says that Kiribati “has essentially been drawing up plans for its demise”, buying land in Fiji and preparing for partial migration.

While that eventuality may still be some decades away, the nation has a diving fraternity that is active all year round, plenty of clam fishing, coral reefs, marine parks and clear, deep blue seas. The hub of all the fun is Christmas Island, part of the Line Islands at one end of Kiribati. The Line Islands — through which the International Date Line passes — include eight that are part of Kiribati, and three that are United States territory. Here, Millennium Atoll is a point of international pride as far as coral reefs are concerned; no prizes for guessing which country it falls under.

“Our country spans four quadrants of the Earth. So it is pretty big, but really small at the same time,” says Mike Roman, environmental worker, writer and one of the organisers of Humans of Kiribati, a group of residents who do a dual job of documenting life on the atolls and representing the country on climate change platforms like COP23.

When asked about tourism, Roman merely says, “Most people come here to cover climate change nowadays.”

Capital situation

In 2014, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) in the US published a study on rising sea levels, sinking land and increasing frequency of tidal floods along the country’s east coast, and patterns for coming decades. Some of the direst predictions were for Washington DC.

The study estimates that the frequency of floods will rise “from chronic to incessant” from 2030 to 2045. It says that Washington DC can expect more than 150 tidal floods per year by 2030.

The tourism industry, for one, doesn’t seem too concerned. “DC’s tourism industry is currently not experiencing an impact,” says Vanessa Casas, International Media Relations Manager, Destination DC, one of the city’s leading tourism organisations. She adds, “One of our recently opened waterfront developments, The Wharf, is along the Potomac River, and includes 3.2 million sq ft of residential, hotel, retail space and more than 20 restaurants.”

Restaurants are Washington DC’s best-kept open secret. Besides being a hub of historic and cultural sites like the US Capitol, The White House, The National Gallery of Art and numerous significant memorials, the capital of the United States is also a premier culinary destination. From oyster bars to beer gardens, from DC’s signature ‘half-smoke’ sausage to select cuisine at numerous Michelin-starred restaurants, the city has something for every palate and wallet size, including good old food trucks.

“DC was named restaurant city of the year by Bon Appetit (a food and entertainment monthly published by Condé Nast) and hottest food city by Zagat (a leading restaurant guide to major US cities) in 2016,” says Casas.

On edge

In 2007, massive floods submerged one-third of Indonesian capital Jakarta, prompting evacuation of around 3,00,000 people. According to The Guardian’s article by Philip Sherwell titled ‘$40bn to save Jakarta: the story of the Great Garuda’, “Four million people live in neighbourhoods that are now up to four metres below sea level.” Parts of the city now exist behind a seawall that protects it from the waters of Jakarta Bay. The city is sinking by 25 centimetres every year. And yet, the city is on the global tourism map. More than being a travel destination unto itself, “Jakarta is mostly for transits,” says the administrator of The Packer Lodge, a backpackers’ hostel in the Chinatown in Glodok, “Most people here do a quick visit that lasts about three days.” While it is a transit point towards more popular destinations like Bali, Komodo and Gili Islands, the city does have some cultural attractions, besides an active night life. Other than being the host of Indonesia Comic Con, the city also boasts one of Asia’s largest EDM festivals, called the Djakarta Warehouse Project. The Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival is also a huge crowd-puller, informs Avin Lee, who looks after guest relations at The Packer Lodge.

Jakarta sits on the island of Java, which Lonely Planet describes as “an island of megacities”. The island is pockmarked with volcanoes, craters and ancient temples. A must-see on the island is the Borobudur temple, a Mahayana Buddhist temple dating back to the 8th and 9th centuries and a UNESCO heritage site.