The effects of climate change in the Pacific have happened a lot sooner, and are a lot worse, than had been predicted, says a leading oceans researcher.
Elisabeth Holland, who's based at the University of the South Pacific, says the latest IPCC Oceans report - which she contributed to - again painted another dire forecast.
It said oceans are heating at such a rate their chemistry is being altered which, in turn, is threatening food supplies, fuelling more extreme cyclones and floods, and posing a profound threat to people who live in low-lying areas.
Professor Holland is at the UN climate talks in Spain this week, where negotiations are underway to finalise the rules of the Paris agreement, in which countries agreed to reduce emissions.
She told Jamie Tahana that drastic changes are needed soon.
The small islands and islets of Tuvalu have been categorised as some of the most vulnerable to climate change. Photo: RNZ / Jamie Tahana
