• From islands swallowed by rising water levels to melting glaciers at a skiing hotspot,
we count ten places you should visit before they’re gone forever!
10 – The Maldives, • If you like an element of danger with
your island holiday, try visiting the Maldives: a collection of 1,200 tropical islands that
are less than a metre above sea level.
• The Maldives are super popular with honeymooners, but they might not be for long.
Environmental studies suggest the Maldives are in danger of disappearing under rising
water levels.
• It’s gotten so bad that the President had to announce a contingency plan.
He said the federal government is purchasing land in other nations so that citizens will
have somewhere to go.
I wonder if they all sleep in their scuba gear.
Y’know, just in case.
9 – Magdalen Islands, • The Magdalen Islands are a beautiful getaway
destination in Quebec’s Gulf of St. Lawrence.
They have pristine beaches and amazing sandstone cliffs, but if you want to check them out
you better be quick before they literally erode from memory!
• This stunning archipelago needs to learn how to stand up for itself because it spends
most of its time getting mercilessly pummelled by heavy winds.
A huge ice wall protects against the worst of it, but even it hasn’t been able to prevent
the coast from eroding up to forty inches a year.
• Oh, and if that weren’t bad enough, the protective ice is melting.
Experts believe it will be completely gone within seventy-five years, which will leave
the island vulnerable to some seriously destructive storms.
8 – Venice, • Venice, Italy’s ‘City of Water’,
is one of the most romantic cities in the world.
It’s basically a photographer’s wet dream, and every year tourists flock there to sample
local wines, paddle across canals and take photos on its many charming bridges.
• Unfortunately water levels in this unique city have been rising for years and experts
believe the place will be uninhabitable by the year 2100.
And that’s assuming flood waters get it first.
Many of its buildings have been structurally compromised because of water immersion.
• However it happens, Venice seems destined to go the way of Atlantis.
But before it does visitors are advised to check out the Grand Canal cruise and the breathtaking
mosaics of the Basilica di San Marco.
Of course, tourism will basically make the situation worse so, yeah, there’s that…
7 – The Alps, • The Alps are the largest mountain system
in Europe and a paradise for skiers and outdoor enthusiasts.
Unfortunately, they’re at huge risk, as experts think the glaciers will completely
melt by 2050.
• Because they sit at a relatively low altitude, the Alps are especially susceptible to climate
change.
The region has been warming at three times faster than the global average, causing it
to lose three percent of glacial ice every year.
• Aside from ruining thousands of perfectly good ski trips, this could also affect Europe’s
freshwater, as forty percent of it originates in the Alps.
Scientists better get their (ice) skates on if they hope to fix this problem.
6 – The Dead Sea, • The salty Dead Sea is a lake that lies
between Israel, Palestinian territory and Jordan.
For a long time tourists and pilgrims have flocked there believing its waters had special
healing abilities.
• Unfortunately mineral mining and a diversion of water flow is drying the lake up.
As the natural mineral-rich water has receded, freshwater has taken its place, which are
dissolving the salt deposits and causing dangerous sinkholes to form.
• In the last forty years, the lake has shrunk by a third and sunk eighty feet.
Experts believe it could disappear in less than fifty years, so if you want to float
in the incredible naturally buoyant water you should probably buy your ticket, like,
now.
5 – Machu Picchu, • Machu Picchu is a mysterious Fifteenth
Century Inca ruin found high up in the Andes Mountains.
Millions of travellers from all across the world are drawn their every year – which
is exactly why it’s in danger.
• According to archaeologists, the fragile ruins are in a state of serious disrepair
because disrespectful visitors regularly jump and climb all over the site’s structures.
The area also has a massive erosion problem because tourists like to wander off where
they’re not supposed to.
• To remedy this, the Peruvian government has limited the number of visitors to just
2,500 a day.
Come on, guys!
I know they’re called ‘ruins’ but that doesn’t mean you have to ruin them!
This is why we can’t have nice things…
4 – The Great Barrier Reef, • Australia’s breathtaking Great Barrier
Reef is the largest coral reef in the world – and naturally nothing that big or that
beautiful can withstand the destructive touch of humans.
• Coral reefs are fragile ecosystems that can’t handle pollution or rising temperatures.
When coral dies it loses its vibrant colour, threatening the many species that rely on
it to survive.
• Over half of the Great Barrier Reef has vanished in the past thirty years and environmentalists
fear this natural wonder could be completely destroyed if better conservation efforts aren’t
implemented immediately.
3 – Madagascar, • Madagascar, the fourth largest island
in the world, is home to some seriously beautiful tropical rainforests and an amazingly diverse
range of wildlife.
But unfortunately huge portions of it have been destroyed because of – you guessed
it!
– humans.
• Mankind has chopped down the rainforest for timber, bulldozed it to make crop fields,
burnt trees for fuel and poached several animal species to near extinction.
It’s said just ten percent of the original forest is intact.
• If things don’t change soon it’s predicted that Madagascar’s rainforests and unique
species will disappear within thirty-five years.
2 – Amazon Rainforest, • Amazon isn’t just an online retailer;
it’s also the largest and most diverse tropical rainforest in the world.
Spread over various countries in South America, this amazing rainforest covers a staggering
1.4 billion acres and is home to a huge number of animal species, including twenty percent
of the world’s bird species.
• You’d think something huge and important would be untouchable, but experts say it could
disappear entirely in just fifty years.
Like Madagascar, the Amazon rainforest has been crippled by excessive deforestation.
Over twenty percent of it has been cleared for farming, mining and logging.
• It’s also been negatively affected by climate change.
Every decade the Amazon’s dry season grows longer, which increases the risk of deadly
forest fires.
1 – Antarctica, • Antarctica may seem like a cold, lifeless
continent, but it’s home to many unique creatures, like polar bears, emperor penguins
and leopard seals.
This makes it a bucket list entry for many adventurous travellers.
• Unfortunately, global warming and a huge influx of tourists have had a negative and
irreversible effect on this icy continent.
It seems Antarctica is on very thin ice.
In the last few decades alone, Antarctica has experienced temperature increases of three
degrees Celsius.
Because of this, it’s losing 160 billion tonnes of ice every year – and that number
looks set to continue rising.
• This reduced sea ice cover has caused a huge drop in Antarctic krill numbers and
several species of native penguins are now critically endangered.
It’s very sad.