Emuhaya MP Wilbur Ottichilo has warned that the island and surrounding areas could be all gone in 50 years, wiped out by rising sea levels.

Speaking at the Kwale and Mombasa counties climate change forum at the weekend, Dr Ottichilo said:

“Already, some islands in the Pacific are getting submerged. With the ice blocks in the North and South pole melting, there are no reserves to store this water, it is flowing into the oceans and raising the sea level.”

There are already danger signs, he said, pointing to dwindling fish stocks in the ocean and dying coral reefs as fish breeding grounds are submerged deeper and the sea becomes sterile.

Other effects of climate change, he said, include rising global temperatures leading to increased water scarcity.