(8/7/2010)
Republika.co.id warns that climate change and rising sea levels threaten dire consequence to Indonesia’s capital and the southernmost peninsula of the island of Bali.
Floods Predicted for Jakarta
Scientific projections say that the average 340 millimeters of rain that falls on Jakarta each year can be expected to increase by 20 millimeters every 5 years according to Dr. Armi Susandi, a climate change expert from Bandung's Institute of Technology (ITB). Susandi says the worst effect of the increased rainfall will be in the southern regions of the nation's capital, causing significant flooding in South and Central Jakarta after 2030.
Climate Change in Bali
Climate change will also bring dramatic changes to the island of Bali. Rising sea levels will cause Bali to become a smaller island, losing 8.6% (489 square kilometers) of its 5,632 square kilometer land mass to the sea by 2050. By 2070 the amount of submerged land will increase to 557 square kilometers.
Even more startling is the prediction that the lowlands that form the land bridge between Bali and its southern peninsula of Nusa Dua will succumb to rising seas, creating two separate islands. The experts also predict that much of the popular tourist areas of Kuta and Sanur will disappear below the sea.
Speaking at an induction ceremony for new students at ITB, Dr. Susandi warned the young students: "Nusa Dua will become a separate island separated from Bali. So you best satisfy now any desires to visit Kuta beach and Sanur beach now before they sink below the sea."
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