Global warming sinks disputed island in Bay of Bengal

Reports indicate that global warming has claimed its latest victim, namely, a low-lying island in a sprawling mangrove delta in the Bay of Bengal, which has been disputed by India and Bangladesh for almost 30 years.

According to a report in The Independent, the New Moore Island has disappeared beneath the waves, which is an alarming indication of the danger posed by rising sea levels brought about by global warming.

"It is definitely because of global warming," said Professor Sugata Hazra of Jadavpur University in Kolkata.

"The sea level has been rising at twice the previous rate in the years between 2002 and 2009. The sea level is rising in accordance with rising temperatures," he added.

Known as New Moore Island in India, and South Talpatti in Bangladesh, the uninhabited outcrop in the Sundarbans delta region measured barely two miles in length and one-and-a-half miles in width.

Yet, the island had been angrily disputed by the two countries, almost ever since Bangladesh secured independence from Pakistan in 1971.

The disappearance of New Moore Island, which was never more than two metres above sea level, may be a doom-laden portent for many islands in the delta.

According to Professor Hazra, countless other islands were threatened by sea levels that for the past decade have been rising by around five millimetres a year.

Before that, they were rising by around three millimetres a year.

Indeed, several islands in the Bay of Bengal have already had to be abandoned.

The island of Lohachara was abandoned in 1996, while 48% of Ghoramara is reportedly underwater.

Thousands of so-called climate-change refugees have already fled. At least 10 other islands are said to be immediately at risk.