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Climate change stops fighting between India and Bangladesh

talpatti moore.jpgA simmering row between India and Bangladesh has been cooled down by global warming.

The two countries were at loggerheads over a pile of mud in the Bay of Bengal, called New Moore Island by India and South Talpatti by Bangladesh. Both claimed the island after it appeared in the 1970s.

Now rising sea levels have calmed the waters, and the island has vanished.

“There’s no trace of the island anymore. After studying satellite images, I confirmed this from fishermen,” says Sugata Hazra, of the School of Oceanographic Studies at Jadavpur University in Kolkata (AFP). “Climate change has obliterated the source of dispute.”

Erosion is also likely to be partly responsible for solving the diplomatic problem.

“The Indian government had once sent ships with guns to guard the island. Now one will have to think of sending submarines to mount a vigil there,” says Hazra (Sydney Morning Herald).

Hazra adds that more islands in the Sundarbans delta will also be claimed by the sea. “We will have ever larger numbers of people displaced from the Sunderbans as more island areas come under water,” he says (BBC).

Image: Wikipedia

Comments

  1. Report this comment

    Nimbo said:

    This news item is junk science at it’s best. New Moore “Island” is nothing more than a sandbar in a river delta.

    So when a new sandbar forms (and it will), does this mean the sea has level dropped? Will it herald the end of climate change?

  2. Report this comment

    John W said:

    This is how a “gate” gets started. The island appeared in the 1970’s and sea level hasn’t risen 2 meters; obviously other forces besides climate change are at work here.

  3. Report this comment

    milgram said:

    @JohnW, Nimbo

    “Erosion is also likely to be partly responsible for solving the diplomatic problem.”

    Read, think, then write.

  4. Report this comment

    Nimbo said:

    Yes Milgram…Read, think, then write. My issue was with statements made by Dr. Hazra. These are in enclosed in quotes which is a writing convention you should learn about.

  5. Report this comment

    milgram said:

    Nice wriggle Nimbo. Shame that what you actually said is “This news item is junk science” with no reference to Dr Hazra.

  6. Report this comment

    Nimbo said:

    Wriggle? Hardly. The fact that you defend this tripe speaks volumes.

  7. Report this comment

    chris g said:

    I am reminded of the legend of King Canute; he was, however, a wise man who saw the follies of human presumption, and surely sending a warship to guard a sandbar in an area known to be geologically unstable was a folly.

    But dear Nimbo and Milgrim, please calm down; such unseemly language does not bring credit to either of you.

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