{"id":408546,"date":"2025-10-16T09:05:54","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T07:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=408546"},"modified":"2025-10-16T09:05:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T07:05:56","slug":"al-jazeera-is-wrong-tuvalus-islands-are-growing-not-disappearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=408546","title":{"rendered":"Al Jazeera Is Wrong, Tuvalu\u2019s Islands Are Growing, Not Disappearing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From ClimateRealism<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Anthony Watts<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"An<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In Al Jazeera\u2019s<\/em> article, \u201c\u2018We don\u2019t want to disappear\u2019: Tuvalu fights for climate action and survival,\u201d<\/a> reporter Lyndal Rowlands claims that the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu is on the brink of disappearing beneath rising seas. This is false. Peer reviewed data show that most of Tuvalu\u2019s islands are growing, keeping up with sea level rise (SLR) with the nation gaining land mass on net, and that SLR is not accelerating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story quotes Tuvalu\u2019s Climate Change Minister, Maina Talia, calling for urgent \u201cclimate finance\u201d and help to build seawalls to keep the islands above water. The piece also declares that Tuvalu \u201cneeds real commitments\u201d from other nations so that Tuvaluans can \u201cstay in Tuvalu\u201d as the \u201cclimate crisis worsens.\u201d It frames the country as a helpless victim of rising seas, citing the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and climate-finance NGOs to reinforce the narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, this story is simply false. Multiple peer-reviewed studies show that Tuvalu is not sinking\u2014it is growing. According to research highlighted by Climate Realism<\/a>, recent satellite and aerial analyses reveal that Tuvalu\u2019s total land area has increased by 2.9 percent over the past four decades<\/strong>, with 74 percent of its islands expanding in size. Rather than drowning, Tuvalu\u2019s natural processes of sediment deposition and coral accretion are exceeding, the local rate of sea-level rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even The New York Times<\/em>\u2014no stranger to climate alarmism\u2014recently acknowledged that many Pacific islands are growing, not vanishing. As Climate Realism noted<\/a>, the Times<\/em> reported that \u201cmany low-lying coral islands are not shrinking, but instead are stable or increasing in land area.\u201d This is consistent with long-term field measurements showing that atoll systems are dynamic, self-repairing, and resilient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The claim that Tuvalu is \u201cbarely one meter above sea level\u201d and faces imminent destruction is a talking point that has been circulating for more than 30 years. Yet, as documented at WUWT in \u201cRemember When the Island of Tuvalu Was Going to Be Inundated by Sea Level Rise? Never Mind.\u201d<\/a>, Tuvalu remains very much above water. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Tides and Currents website<\/a>, since the 1980s, SLR near Tuvalu has averaged roughly 3\u20134 millimeters per year\u2014 which is equivalent to a change of 1.29 feet in 100 years \u2014hardly the apocalyptic surge portrayed by Al Jazeera. See the graph below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Graph<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, Climate at a Glance: Islands and Sea Level Rise<\/a> explains that global satellite data show no evidence that sea-level rise is accelerating<\/strong>, and the rate of increase has remained largely unchanged since the 1950s. Coastal variability, driven by natural processes like El Ni\u00f1o cycles and sediment transport, explains much of what alarmist observers misinterpret as \u201cclimate-driven\u201d loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Tuvalu were truly in existential peril, it would not be investing heavily in new infrastructure and tourism amenities. The government has spent millions on airport improvements, resort facilities, and fiber-optic internet connectivity\u2014all to expand the tourism trade. Those aren\u2019t the actions of a nation preparing to vanish beneath the waves. They are the actions of a government seizing every opportunity to extract climate aid while modernizing its economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That brings us to the real story: money. Tuvalu\u2019s leaders are campaigning for ever-greater \u201cclimate finance\u201d commitments\u2014what Minister Talia calls \u201creal commitments\u201d and \u201cpolluter-pay\u201d reparations. In the article, he laments that the country \u201cneeds it now, in order for us to respond to the climate crisis.\u201d But what Tuvalu really seeks is not salvation from the sea\u2014it\u2019s a bigger slice of the climate funding pie. As Climate Realism observed<\/a>, these small island governments have learned that portraying themselves as victims yields lucrative international sympathy and cash. They know a good grift when they see it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facts still matter. Tuvalu\u2019s land mass is stable or growing. Its population is not evacuating. Its leaders are not panicking\u2014they\u2019re lobbying for money to be used for ongoing economic development. The \u201csinking islands\u201d narrative is falsified by peer-reviewed evidence and decades of observations demonstrating that Tuvalu is not disappearing. Al Jazeera reporter Lyndal Rowlands could have discovered this with a simple Google search but instead repeated this decades-old myth without a single reference to the robust scientific literature disproving it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s sinking is honest, fact-based journalism, not Tuvalu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Al Jazeera\u2019s article, \u201c\u2018We don\u2019t want to disappear\u2019: Tuvalu fights for climate action and survival,\u201d reporter Lyndal Rowlands claims that the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu is on the brink of disappearing beneath rising seas. This is false. Peer reviewed data show that most of Tuvalu\u2019s islands are growing, keeping up with sea level rise (SLR) with the nation gaining land mass on net, and that SLR is not accelerating.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":408553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"Discover the truth about Tuvalu's islands: they're not sinking but growing! Explore the real story behind climate change narratives.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Tuvalu's Islands Are Growing: Debunking Climate Myths","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691826617,691838869,691838871,691838872,691831896,691838867,691838868,691823788,691818760],"class_list":{"0":"post-408546","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-al-jazeera","9":"tag-climate-finance-2","10":"tag-climate-finance-ngos","11":"tag-el-nino-cycles","12":"tag-international-court-of-justice-icj","13":"tag-pacific-island-nation-of-tuvalu","14":"tag-sea-level-rise-slr","15":"tag-the-new-york-times","16":"tag-united-nations","18":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQPCvNS9g2sqqYloJPcedA6C8R4sbpqp1a3vBRDZaqBkRAybXzyk3eOZDgU_Bm2643hpoiAzFOwQjhyhbWxsaFCXy-hd2jmRszJw7lXt8n3uTHzhmKFftXcbnRoTfhI-1.jpeg?fit=1485%2C833&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1Ihs","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":344963,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=344963","url_meta":{"origin":408546,"position":0},"title":"Note to Australian Broadcasting Corporation News, Pacific Island Sea Level Projections Are Wrong","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/10\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A September 26th article on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) website, titled \u201cSea level rise inevitable for Pacific Islands despite future greenhouse gas emissions reduction, NASA finds,\u201d suggests that small island nations are doomed to disappear beneath the waves regardless of any actions to prevent climate change. The claim is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)\"","block_context":{"text":"Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=australian-broadcasting-corporation-abc"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0Tahiti.webp?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0Tahiti.webp?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0Tahiti.webp?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0Tahiti.webp?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0Tahiti.webp?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":288599,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=288599","url_meta":{"origin":408546,"position":1},"title":"Tuvaluan\u2019s May \u2018Escape\u2019 to Australia, but if They Do, Associated Press, It Won\u2019t Be Because of Climate Change","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"25\/11\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By H. Sterling Burnett An Associated Press (AP) story reports that Australia has offered refuge to up to 280 residents of Tuvalu each year, allowing them to \u201cescape rising seas and other ravages of climate change.\u201d Australia\u2019s refugee policies may result in some migration from Tuvalu. However, any residents that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Associated Press (AP)\"","block_context":{"text":"Associated Press (AP)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=associated-press-ap"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image-544.png?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image-544.png?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image-544.png?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image-544.png?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image-544.png?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":335401,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=335401","url_meta":{"origin":408546,"position":2},"title":"The New York Times Is Right, Finally; Climate Change Is Not Threatening Island Nations","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/07\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The New York Times (NYT) recently posted an article, titled \u201cA Surprising Climate Find,\u201d which explains how island nations like the Maldives and Tuvalu are not, in fact, in danger of sinking under the seas due to climate change. This is true; a fact Climate Realism has repeatedly discussed. Atolls\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Maldives\"","block_context":{"text":"Maldives","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=maldives"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/00Tuvalu-beach-pixabay-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/00Tuvalu-beach-pixabay-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/00Tuvalu-beach-pixabay-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/00Tuvalu-beach-pixabay-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/00Tuvalu-beach-pixabay-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":353983,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=353983","url_meta":{"origin":408546,"position":3},"title":"Take Note, VOA, Island Nation\u2019s International Court of Justice Lawsuit Over Sea-Level Rise Is Pointless and Toothless","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/12\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In the article Big polluters, small island states clash on climate change, the Voice of America (VOA) claimed that climate change threatens the survival of Pacific island nations due to sea-level rise, and that they should be compensated by other countries who are said to be the major drivers of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/00shutterstock-443556646.webp?fit=1100%2C734&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/00shutterstock-443556646.webp?fit=1100%2C734&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/00shutterstock-443556646.webp?fit=1100%2C734&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/00shutterstock-443556646.webp?fit=1100%2C734&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/00shutterstock-443556646.webp?fit=1100%2C734&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":385937,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=385937","url_meta":{"origin":408546,"position":4},"title":"In publicity stunt, Australia offers \u201cclimate visas\u201d to islanders of Tuvalu, which is not sinking","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"30\/06\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Satellites clearly show that if \u201cclimate change\u201d has any effect on Tuvalu, it\u2019s to make it bigger. Not only are beaches expanding, obviously in photographs, but we\u2019ve known about this for years. And lest anyone wonders if Tuvalu is some freakish exception to the rule, the same thing is happening\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Australia\"","block_context":{"text":"Australia","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=australia"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0Screenshot-2025-06-30-125719.png?fit=1200%2C743&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0Screenshot-2025-06-30-125719.png?fit=1200%2C743&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0Screenshot-2025-06-30-125719.png?fit=1200%2C743&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0Screenshot-2025-06-30-125719.png?fit=1200%2C743&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0Screenshot-2025-06-30-125719.png?fit=1200%2C743&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":406756,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=406756","url_meta":{"origin":408546,"position":5},"title":"Sea Level Rise Hoax Exposed: The Disappearing Islands That Refuse To Disappear","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"05\/10\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Germany\u2019s Klimanachrichten here publishes an article titled \u201cThe Disappearing Islands (That Don\u2019t Want to Disappear)\u201d summarizes findings suggesting that the widespread assumption about low-lying islands inevitably sinking due to rising sea levels is too simplistic and detached from reality.","rel":"","context":"In \"climate alarmism\"","block_context":{"text":"climate alarmism","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-alarmism"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQMB_CovPZcjqizqXGHHmqbSeJIpyf21Q5yqFBsQk-tnSLMUPI-L5ZZ6W_peHHAfeVS2sh4lmHSNsONlvKac5hpCbcjweA1uODNbmQst0yJK6SBN6HYkAP5o0mTe2WiAkQMte-MUx7qM0OddM7o18N0fd2_M7g.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQMB_CovPZcjqizqXGHHmqbSeJIpyf21Q5yqFBsQk-tnSLMUPI-L5ZZ6W_peHHAfeVS2sh4lmHSNsONlvKac5hpCbcjweA1uODNbmQst0yJK6SBN6HYkAP5o0mTe2WiAkQMte-MUx7qM0OddM7o18N0fd2_M7g.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQMB_CovPZcjqizqXGHHmqbSeJIpyf21Q5yqFBsQk-tnSLMUPI-L5ZZ6W_peHHAfeVS2sh4lmHSNsONlvKac5hpCbcjweA1uODNbmQst0yJK6SBN6HYkAP5o0mTe2WiAkQMte-MUx7qM0OddM7o18N0fd2_M7g.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQMB_CovPZcjqizqXGHHmqbSeJIpyf21Q5yqFBsQk-tnSLMUPI-L5ZZ6W_peHHAfeVS2sh4lmHSNsONlvKac5hpCbcjweA1uODNbmQst0yJK6SBN6HYkAP5o0mTe2WiAkQMte-MUx7qM0OddM7o18N0fd2_M7g.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQMB_CovPZcjqizqXGHHmqbSeJIpyf21Q5yqFBsQk-tnSLMUPI-L5ZZ6W_peHHAfeVS2sh4lmHSNsONlvKac5hpCbcjweA1uODNbmQst0yJK6SBN6HYkAP5o0mTe2WiAkQMte-MUx7qM0OddM7o18N0fd2_M7g.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=408546"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":408554,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408546\/revisions\/408554"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/408553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=408546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=408546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=408546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}