(Reuters) – Climate change will be high on the agenda as Pope Francis embarks on his longest ever foreign trip on Monday, visiting Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore over 12 days.
Following are some of the climate challenges facing the countries on his itinerary.
RISING SEA LEVELS
Pope Francis has warned rising sea levels will mean many populations will probably have to move their homes in a few years.
This is already happening in Indonesia, with its densely populated and low-lying coastal regions at risk from subsidence and flooding. It is already relocating its national capital from Jakarta to a new and less vulnerable city on Borneo.
Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency warned in 2021 that 115 islands in the country’s sprawling archipelago could be completely submerged by the end of the century.
Singapore has predicted its coastal waters could rise by more than a metre by the end of the century, piling pressure on its flood defences and threatening its low-lying land.
Sea levels in the Pacific Ocean are rising faster than the global average, the World Meteorological Organisation said last week, and the increase is also linked with more intense tropical storms throughout the western Pacific region.
RAIN
Francis has highlighted the risks of more frequent and intense rains and floods as temperatures rise. South East Asia and the Western Pacific are particularly vulnerable.
In May, Papua New Guinea suffered a catastrophic landslide which the government said buried more than 2,000 people alive, and was caused by heavy rains and storms. Intense rain has also led to fatalities in Indonesia in May and August.
East Timor is struggling to build resilience to extreme weather after suffering its worst flooding in fifty years in 2021.
It warned in a climate policy document submitted to the U.N. that extreme rainfall during its wet season together with increased drought risks during the dry months were posing risks to food and water security.
In the worst-case scenario, Singapore by the end of the century could see rainfall nearly double during its monsoon season, the country said in its 2024 climate change assessment.
HEAT
Pope Francis described the earth as having “a fever” in a video message on Friday. All the countries on Pope Francis’s itinerary are particularly exposed to soaring heat, which is already impacting health and economic productivity in the region.
Singapore warned in the climate assessment that temperatures in excess of 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) could become the norm by the end of the century, with averages projected to rise by up to 5C if emissions remain high.
East Timor says its economy is also threatened by rising ocean temperatures, which are killing coral reefs and damaging its fishing industry.
(Reporting by David Stanway in Singapore; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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