Bucket list travel destinations that will be affected by climate change

Dec 21, 2014

Have you ever stopped and observed your travel bucket list and given some priority to the areas of the world that might be affected significantly by climate change in coming years? Given that climate change was last week hailed as a crucial G20 issue, now might be the time to stop and consider where these beautiful places sit in your priorities.

Today we want to talk about which places you have been that are or will be affected and what makes them so special… I’ll start with my list.

Venice, Italy

To anyone who has visited Venice, there is no doubt that the water table is rising and the city is sinking. Climate change won’t be kind to this beautiful historical location. Scientists say the city is sinking, tilting to the east and heading out to the Adriatic Sea, as it is hit by more floods than ever before. Studies show it has sunk by an unprecedented 2mm per year over the last decade.

The Maldives

This archipelago of 1200 spectacular islands are said to be swallowed up in approximately 100 years by the Indian Ocean unless the governments of the world can find a way to stop global warming and rising sea levels. The Maldives are very low lands, the highest of the islands lies just 7.8 feet above the level of the ocean, making them very vulnerable to the rising sea levels. The locals will soon start to artificially raise some areas, but this is just a short term measure, in the long run they will probably be forced to abandon their homes and relocate.

Mt Kilimanjaro

The beauty of the white cap atop the spectacular mountain Mt Kilimanjaro is said to make it the most beautiful mountain in the world, but science is showing that the glacier on top of the tallest mountain in Africa will disappear in the next 10 years. According to aerial photography, global warming has become a real issue, stripping a massive amount of ice from the Kilimanjaro glacier in recent years.

The Great Barrier Reef

Coral reefs all over the world are being destroyed due to global warming, and this one of the seven wonders of the world is sadly under threat. The damage is done to reefs when carbon dioxide is absorbed by ocean water just like it is absorbed in softdrinks, making it more acidic and rendering corals unable to calcify their skeletons. Marine specialists say corals and the species that inhabit them could be extinct by 2050 if a practical solution to global warming is not found quickly.

Alaska

The frozen lands of Alaska are drawing tourists from all over the world to come and see the ice, and sadly, the great melt going on. Glaciers are crumbling into the water, the tundra is melting and the wildlife is trying to adjust to all the changes. Alaska is sadly a demonstration of what we could see in so many places. Polar bears are now an endangered species because they simply cannot cope with the changing climate. They are simply not built to withstand such an increase in temperature. Food is harder to come-by and the melting ice caps cause them to drown.

Antarctica

The polar regions of the Earth are where climate change is having the most visible and significant impacts. Sea ice and freshwater glacial ice are melting, the permafrost continues to thaw and release even more greenhouse gases and many species are find it increasingly hard to adapt to the escalating changes.