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.
