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Hello everyone, this is Aida Bataba from
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the social talks. While we talk about
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climate change in far away places, it's
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happening right here in India too. In
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the Gulf of Manar off the coast of Tamil
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Nadu, there's a small island called
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Karachali and it's sinking. According to
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official reports, Karachali has lost
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over 70% of its land since 1969.
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It shrunk from around 21 hectares to 6
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The main reasons are sea level rise,
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damaged coral reefs, strong waves, and
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Experts believe that if nothing is done,
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this island will disappear by 2036.
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Now, you might wonder, it's a small
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uninhabited island. Why does it matter?
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The thing is Karia Chali is a part of
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one of India's richest marine
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biodiversity zones. It's a home to rare
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coral reefs, seaggrass, fish breeding
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areas and endangered marine species. If
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this island disappears, it will harm the
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nearby fishing communities and the
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marine ecosystem that thousands of
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people depend on. To save this, the
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Tamil Nadu government and World Bank
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backed by TN shore program have launched
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a 50 cr project this year. They are
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placing 8,500 artificial reef structures
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underwater. What's really inspiring is
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that over 300 local fishermen are being
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trained as divers to help build these
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reefs and plant seaggrass. This is a
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powerful example of how climate change
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is affecting India and how communities
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and government can work together to
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fight this. If it works, this can become
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a model for saving other sinking islands
