Tuvalu is a small, isolated island country in Oceania, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia. It is composed of three reef islands and six atolls. It has a tropical climate and high average annual precipitation; however, this is highly variable year to year. Its highest elevation is 4.6m above sea level, which along with its exposure to cyclone-generated winds, storm surges, swells and rising sea level, makes Tuvalu vulnerable to climate change (World Bank Group, 2021). However, it is considered to be Low Risk by the World Risk Report (2023). 

Projections for Tuvalu’s future rainfall and temperature vary due to limited data and its small spatial scale (World Bank Group, 2021). However, risks that it can face include the increased prevalence of heatwaves, intensified cyclones, saline intrusion, coastal erosion (IPCC, 2019), wave-driven flooding, and permanent inundation (ibid.). Furthermore, the country has limited soil, so it is heavily reliant on imports and fishing for food (ibid.). Overfishing and the effect of climate change on fisheries and biodiversity are expected to have a negative effect on healthy coral reefs (and thus, fish) (ibid.). Its freshwater supply is almost entirely dependent on rainfall, so meteorological droughts pose a large threat to its water security (ibid.). The IPCC (2014) warns, however, that many communities in Tuvalu and other island states are built (due to engineering works in WW2, rapid development, growth, etc.) in unsuitable areas such as on vulnerable shorelines or swamplands leaving the communities already in a heightened state of vulnerability that is not necessarily caused by, but rather exacerbated by climate change. 

Among other projects, Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project, the Government of Tuvalu is working to reduce the impacts of climate change induced sea level rise on key infrastructure by implementing various projects including beach nourishment, concrete and rock revetments, and sea walls.