Maldives- Rising Sea Level

Question 1

What’s the population of the Maldives?

Answer 1

300,000 people

Question 2

How many inhabited islands are there?

Answer 2

199

Question 3

What’s the average height above sea level?

Answer 3

1.5m

Question 4

How long do scientists think it will be for the islands to completely submerged?

Answer 4

50-100 years

Question 5

Economic Impacts: What’s the Maldives largest export?

Answer 5

Fish

Question 6

Economic Impacts: What is the largest industry in the Maldives?

Answer 6

Tourism

Question 7

Economic Impacts: What may cause the main airport to stop working properly?

Answer 7

Coastal Flooding

Question 8

Economic Impacts: What will happen if the main airport can’t work properly?

Answer 8

The country will be cut off from international tourists

Question 9

Economic Impacts: What happens if they are cut off from international tourists?

Answer 9

Their income will be massively reduced

Question 10

Economic Impacts: How can coastal flooding damage the fishing industry?

Answer 10

It damages fish processing plants

Question 11

Economic Impacts: What happens if fish processing plants are damaged?

Answer 11

There will be a reduction in the amount of fish they can export

Question 12

Economic Impacts: What happens if they have less fish to export?

Answer 12

Their income is reduced

Question 13

Social Impacts: What would happen to houses if there was a severe flood?

Answer 13

They could be damaged or destroyed

Question 14

Social Impacts: What could the flooding cause many communities to be?

Answer 14

Homeless

Question 15

Social Impacts: What type of water would be less available?

Answer 15

Freshwater

Question 16

Social Impacts: What would pollute the freshwater?

Answer 16

Salty seawater

Question 17

Social Impacts: What would islands have to rely on if their water was polluted?

Answer 17

Rainwater

Question 18

Social Impacts: How would they meet their water demands using rainwater?

Answer 18

Build expensive desalination plants

Question 19

Environmental Impacts: What would a loss of beaches cause?

Answer 19

A loss of habitat

Question 20

Environmental Impacts: What does coastal flooding do to beaches?

Answer 20

Wear them away at a rapid rate

Question 21

Environmental Impacts: What happens when beaches have been eroded?

Answer 21

The land behind is exposed to the effects of flooding

Question 22

Environmental Impacts: How deep is the soil?

Answer 22

20cm or less

Question 23

Environmental Impacts: What would happen if coastal floods washed away the soil layer?

Answer 23

Most plants wouldn’t be able to grow

Question 24

Political Impacts: How much did the Japanese Government give the Maldives to build a sea wall?

Answer 24

$60 million

Question 25

Political Impacts: How high was the sea wall built around Malé (capital city)?

Answer 25

3m

Question 26

Political Impacts: Where is the Maldivian government thinking about buying land?

Answer 26

India and Australia

Question 27

Political Impacts: Why do they want to buy land?

Answer 27

So the Maldivian people have somewhere to live when the islands become uninhabitable

Question 28

Political Impacts: What has the Maldives become?

Answer 28

Carbon Neutral

Question 29

Political Impacts: Why has it become carbon neutral?

Answer 29

So it doesn’t contribute to global warming, which increases sea levels

Question 30

Political Impacts: What it their government encouraging other countries to do?

Answer 30

Become carbon neutral, to reduce global warming