UN chief calls rising seas a ‘worldwide catastrophe’ that especially imperils Pacific paradises

AP Science Writer

NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga (AP) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is putting out yet another climate SOS to the world. This time he says those initials stand for “save our seas” as he tours vulnerable Pacific island nations getting hit extra hard by rising sea level. Reports on Monday from the United Nations and the World Meteorological Organization show worsening sea level rise, turbocharged by a warming Earth and melting ice sheets and glaciers. Parts of the Pacific are seeing sea level rise at twice the rate of the global average. And they’re flooding far more often than they used to.