Indonesia relocates capital due to rising sea levels

Indonesia relocates capital due to rising sea levels

Part of: Prelims and GS-II International Relations and GS-III Climate change

Context Indonesia’s parliament has passed a law approving the relocation of its capital from slowly sinking Jakarta to a site 2,000 km away on the jungle-clad Borneo island that will be named “Nusantara”.

• The law was passed due to rising sea levels and severe congestion on densely populated Java island.

About Sea Level Rise (SLR)

• SLR is an increase in the level of the world’s oceans due to the effects of climate change, especially global warming,
• It is induced by three primary factors: Thermal Expansion, Melting Glaciers and Loss of Greenland and Antarctica’s ice sheets.
• Sea level is primarily measured using tide stations and satellite laser altimeters.
• Global sea level has been rising over the past century, and the rate has accelerated in recent decades.

Image courtesy: Polgeonow

News Source: TH