Indian Ocean

THE INDIAN OCEAN has seen some dramatic changes owing to the effects of global warming and climate change. The major effects of global warming have been the rise of waters temperature, and also the rise in the water level. Researchers have shown not only a general warming of the surface of the Indian Ocean, but also warming of about 3.6 degrees F (2 degrees C) over the last 40 years, in the region of 40 degrees S and 50 degrees S, down to a depth of 262 ft. (800 m.). A study by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) showed that tradewinds that cover the southern part of the Indian Ocean have also weakened 1992–2000 so much that there has been up to a 70 percent reduction in up-welling and cool currents. Scientists are also worried about the survival of many of the marine turtles in the Indian Ocean, for which global warming and climate change represent yet another threat.

Most of the focus of world attention on global warming in the Indian Ocean remains focused on the potential loss of land through rising sea levels. This is because there is much low-lying land around the Indian Ocean. The Republic of the Maldives, an archipelago of 1,190 islands (202 of which are inhabited), is at risk of submersion if there is a significant rise in the level of the Indian Ocean. With the Maldives having an elevation of less than 8 ft. (2.5 m.), the government of the Maldives has been actively campaigning for countries around the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Although the Maldives is at greatest risk of being entirely submerged, many other islands in the Indian Ocean are also under threat. These include the Lac-cadive Islands, and some of the islands in the Andaman and the Nicobar groups (all parts of India), as well as islands of the British Indian Ocean Territory, especially in the Chagos Archipelago. Some of these islands, too, have the very real risk of total submersion with rising water levels. There is also a concern about islands in the Seychelles, Mauritius, and the French island of Réunion. Parts of mainland Asia are also at risk, especially Bangladesh, which is suffering increasingly from floods, and the land around the mouth of the Irrawaddy in Myanmar (Burma).

The problems in Bangladesh, one of the most densely-populated countries in the world, have been serious for many decades, and further floods threaten to cause even longer-term economic problems. Many geographers believe that global warming has led to more frequent floods and cyclones, regularly displacing many farmers who lived on the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta. The Sunda Islands, off the west coast of Sumatra, have also seen a rise in flooding that has led to increased breeding of mosquitoes and the rise in the prevalence of insect-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, problems also exacerbated by more flooding in Myanmar, which has become more regular since the 1980s. Prolonged flooding would seriously undermine the agricultural base of both Bangladesh and [Page 538]Myanmar, resulting in worsening coastal problems. As the coastline is battered by the Indian Ocean, it is expected that some of the farmers will move inland, threatening, in the case of Bangladesh, the Sundar-bans, which is currently the largest mangrove forest in the world, home of the Royal Bengal tiger, and other fauna and flora.

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