The Threat of India’s Sinking Islands

The coastal regions of India are home to around 170 million people. However, the effects of climate change, rising sea levels, erosion, and the increase in extreme weather events such as tropical storms and cyclones are threatening the lives of people living in India’s coastal regions, in particular, those living on Indian islands. India is home to a delicate network of 1,382 islands, which are spread across the various parts of the country, with the most notable networks being located in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.
It is estimated that India lost around 235 square kilometres of land due to coastal erosion between 1990 and 2016. Islands in Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Sundarbans, and the coastal state of Kerala, amongst others, are grappling with the onslaught of extreme weather events such as cyclones and flooding, which is rapidly depleting forest cover, while also submerging land in these islands.