The worry over waves

The Maldives is a cluster of 1192 small coral islands, spread over a geographical area of 90,000sq kilometres (including sea) in the Indian Ocean.

The islands that make up the Republic are very small, barely 3meters above sea level- the total area being around 298 square kilometres and Male' the capital island being only 450.6 acres.

The rough weather and tidal surge Maldives is experiencing over the last few days has resulted in damage and destruction of property in several islands.

Strong winds, heavy rain and rough seas in the past years coincide with low pressure trough in the southwest Bay of Bengal.

In view of the global warming and climatic changes that are occurring, should Maldives worry about a sinking feeling? Or is still early to tell?

Well, not everyone believes that global temperature is rising or it is bad.

People have always "created" experts to justify their arguments. Tobacco companies have "scientists" to claim that nicotine is not addictive, asbestos companies have "doctors" to claim that asbestos does no lead to asbestosis of the lungs, and confectionery companies have "dentists" to claim that sugar does not lead to tooth decay.

No one argues that greenhouse gas concentrations are going up extremely rapidly. No one argues that changing this will change the way the atmosphere behaves. The debate is about whether those changes will cause global warming- and whether they are the cause of the global temperature increases.

While looking up to the international community to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions, what can Maldives do to help its citizens avoid the wrath of the waves.