Volkswacht Bodensee - UN chief says sea level rise threatens 'rising tide of misery'

"Low-lying coastal zones are home to around 900 million people. Rising seas mean a rising tide of misery," he said at a summit on the threats posed by sea level rise.

"Greenhouse gasses -- overwhelmingly from burning fossil fuels -- are heating our planet, expanding seawater and melting ice."

Since the start of the 20th century, global-mean sea level has risen faster than over any prior century in at least the last 3,000 years, and the rate of increase is accelerating.

According to a study cited by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, five nations -- the Maldives, Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands, Nauru and Kiribati -- may become uninhabitable by 2100, creating 600,000 stateless climate refugees.

Guterres warned of "communities swamped, fresh water contaminated, crops ruined, infrastructure damaged, biodiversity destroyed and economies decimated -- with sectors such as fisheries, agriculture and tourism pummeled."

"We cannot leave the hopes and aspirations of billions of people dead in the water."

R.Kloeti--VB