The island nation of Tuvalu is facing an emergency relocation due to climate change, according to Levon Azizyan, director of the Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center, who shared the update on Facebook.
“Tuvalu is preparing to relocate all 11,000 of its citizens due to sea level rise and intensifying storms. Since 2023, an agreement with Australia has been in force for the gradual admission of climate visa migrants,” he wrote.
Tuvalu’s average elevation is just 2 meters above sea level. Rising temperatures not only accelerate ice melt but also increase the intensity of storms that already flood the islands.
As of July 2025, nearly 9,000 relocation applications had been submitted to Australian authorities—representing nearly the country’s entire adult population. According to Jane McAdam of the University of New South Wales, with other resettlement programs in Australia and New Zealand, up to 4% of Tuvalu’s population may leave annually, meaning nearly half could emigrate within a decade.
While relocation efforts continue, Tuvalu’s authorities have begun 3D scanning the islands to digitally preserve their disappearing landscapes and cultural sites—an effort to keep the memory of the vanishing nation alive.
According to the UN Development Programme, by 2050, coastal cities housing hundreds of millions may face frequent flooding. The UN estimates that rising sea levels already affect nearly one billion people worldwide.
