In a surprise upset, India now can claim the loss of the first inhabited island to sink beneath the rising ocean. Tuvalu, long thought to be a frontrunner in this contest, has indeed lost islands already, but the island of Lohachara, once home to 10,000 people is now officially the first inhabited island out.
"Refugees from the vanished Lohachara island and the disappearing Ghoramara island have fled to Sagar, but this island has already lost 7,500 acres of land to the sea. In all, a dozen islands, home to 70,000 people, are in danger of being submerged by the rising seas. " from The Independent.
Elsewhere, "Papua New Guinean authorities are trying to convince thousands of Polynesians to abandon their homes " because rising seas threaten the Carteret Islands.
In the USA, the small Arctic village of Shishmaref is being engulfed. Inhabited for 4,000 years, the remaining indiginous population have petitioned the US Government to move the remaining buildings of their village away from the coastline, even as the coastline gets closer to the buildings. "Soon this entire village will be relocating to the mainland - making the people of Shishmaref the first refugees of global warming."
Well, it seems that that was typical American vanity, imagining that the first climate refugees would be American citizens. India beat us to it, and so did Vanuatu. Papua New Guinea, too.
Hey, you know what, it's not that bad- we're still number one when you look at carbon dioxide emissions! USA! USA! USA!
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