Tuvalu Islanders
Tuvaluans (approximately 11,000) inhabit nine coral atolls with highest point just 4.6 meters above sea level—making them the world's fourth-smallest country and one of the most vulnerable to sea level rise. They face king tides flooding villages, saltwater contamination of freshwater, coastal erosion, and existential threat of complete submersion. Tuvalu may become the first nation to disappear entirely due to climate change. Traditional Polynesian seafaring culture, climate migration negotiations, and fighting for survival define this Pacific atoll nation literally sinking into the ocean.