Lakshadweep, which has been in the news lately owing to the new “anti-people” policies being announced by its new administrator Praful Patel, has more distressing news.
A new study has found that in a few years from now a number of islands of the Union territory may face the threat of submergence due to rising sea levels, prompting residents to look for a new home. Lakshadweep is an archipelago of 36 islands in the Arabian Sea.
The study jointly carried out by the Department of Architecture and Regional Planning, Department of Ocean and Naval Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, and Department of Science and Technology has found that sea levels around Lakshadweep are estimated to rise between 0.4 mm and 0.9 mm annually, causing coastal erosion in many of the islands, and possibly submerging the smaller islets.
The reason for this coastal erosion is climate change, and it is in line with rising global sea levels.