Rising sea levels threaten 42 million Indonesian homes
Almost 42 million homes in the coastal regions of Indonesia are under threat by sea levels that are rising as fast as 8 millimetres a year. Many of those affected rely on the sea for their livelihoods, so cannot move away. In Bahagia village, half the population have left, and the shrimp ponds where residents worked have been destroyed.

Almost 42 million homes in Indonesia’s coastal areas are under threat by rising sea levels.

Almost 42 million homes in the coastal regions of Indonesia are under threat by rising sea levels.

Water levels are rising at the rate of eight millimetres a year in many places.

Most of the affected rely on the sea for their livelihoods, so they cannot move away.

In Bahagia village (“Happy” village), half the population has had to move away, and the shrimp ponds where residents worked have been destroyed.

The people of Bahagia fear that unless the government intervenes to build a dam, the entire village will be washed away.

Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen reports from Bekasi, West Java.