A popular island resort off Singapore's southern coast faces an uncertain future as rising sea levels threaten its beautiful coastline, according to Channel NewsAsia.
What's happening?
The number of Sentosa Island visitors has been climbing since COVID-19 restrictions were eased in 2021. The island welcomed nearly 13 million visitors between April 2022 and March 2023. The following fiscal year saw a 20% jump with 16 million visitors.
The island has several attractions, including Universal Studios Singapore and Sentosa AdventureLand. The big draw to Sentosa is its beautiful beaches. The Island boasts nearly 10 miles of shoreline, and rising sea levels are threatening portions of its coastline.
Those concerned with protecting the island are weighing solutions that would have to be tailored for different areas of the island. For example, any changes to the marina in Sentosa Cove, which hosts several waterfront businesses and homes, would need to continue to allow access for large yachts to make it safely to the sea.
"There must be an open connection to the sea," James Lam, the National University of Singapore's Coastal Protection and Flood Resilience Institute executive director, told Channel NewsAsia. "I think the most obvious adaptation measure would be to raise the land level around the marina so that it can cope with the future sea level rise."
Why are rising sea levels important?
Significant sections of Sentosa's coastline are at risk of being inundated as seawater encroaches.
Singapore's Third National Climate Change Study found that the mean sea level around Singapore might rise by nearly 4 feet by the end of this century. If the amount of planet-warming pollution being released into the atmosphere increases, the sea levels could climb by nearly 7 feet by 2150.
Rising sea levels also threaten our country's coastlines. If the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's projections for sea level rises were to be verified, the map of the United States would look a lot different by 2100. In the worst-case scenario, parts of the Carolinas' coastline — including at least three coastal counties — would be swallowed up.
The intrusion of saltwater is already impacting ecosystems. A local extinction event in the Florida Keys might be the first extinction caused by rising sea levels.
What's being done about rising sea levels around Sentosa?
According to experts, solutions for Sentosa include restoring marine habitats with artificial reefs, enhancing coastal defenses through barrages, and replenishing eroded shorelines with beach nourishment. Singapore has invested nearly $19 million in research to enhance its understanding and forecasting of extreme weather events caused by a warming world.
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