[00:08] The Earth's average surface temperature has risen about one degree Fahrenheit in the last century. Many scientists now predict the global temperature will rise one and a half to three degrees within the next 100 years.

[00:19] The ominous consequence of global warming is likely to be a rise in sea levels by thermal expansion of ocean water and melting glacial ice.

[00:27] Along U.S. shores, sea level rates are on the rise three millimeters a year. Projections for the next 100 years show that the sea level could rise nearly one and a half feet, flooding many coastal communities.

[00:40] The balmy Maldives in the Indian Ocean sit only six feet above sea level. Global warming leading to sea level rise is a threat to their nation's very existence.

[00:50] Maldive journalist Ali Rafeeq writes about environmental changes on his native islands.

[00:56] Ali Rafeeq, Maldive Journalist
'I think the future is very gloomy for the Maldives considering the predictions of the scientists. And with that much increase in the sea level and again if the storms come, this means the islands will be washed away.'

[01:10] Mr. Rafeeq sounds a warning of changes to come to coastal communities globally. For the Maldive Islands, once described by Italian adventurer Marco Polo as the flower of the Indies, the petals are falling as the world warms and seas rise.