Rising sea levels mean Pacific islands in 'grave danger', warns UN chief

Pacific island nations are in "grave danger" from rising sea levels and the world must "answer the SOS before it is too late", the UN chief has warned during a visit to Tonga.

- Daniel Hurst , Adam Morton

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, urged the world to "look to the Pacific and listen to the science" as he released two new reports on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum, the region's most important annual political gathering.

Sea-surface temperatures in the south-west Pacific have risen three times faster than the global average since 1980, according to a regional report compiled by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

It also found that marine heatwaves in the region had roughly doubled in frequency since 1980 and had become intense and longer-lasting. The report said 34 mostly storm or flood-related "hydrometeorological hazard events" in the region last year led to more than 200 deaths and affected more than 25 million people.

In a second report published today, the UN's climate action team warned that the climate crisis and sea-level rise were "no longer distant threats", especially for the Pacific's small island developing states.