Central and South Asia

Underwater cabinet meeting

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For our Geo Quiz today — we’re looking for a small island nation with a big problem. This country is at risk of disappearing.

Its nearly 1,200 coral islands top out at less than eight feet above sea level. And climate forecasters predict they will be swamped by rising seas due to global warming… within a century.

So this weekend the country’s prime minister and his cabinet are staging a world-class publicity stunt to draw attention to their plight and raise the alarm about climate change. They’re holding the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting. We’ll hear from this archipelago’s UN representative. Meanwhile, spin your globe to the Indian Ocean to find his country.

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Geo Answer:
Right back to our Geo Quiz. We were looking for a country who’s government is holding a cabinet meeting underwater tomorrow. The answer is the Maldives.The underwater meeting comes ahead of a global summit on climate change in December. And it’s part of an effort by the Maldives to draw attention to the issue.

The World’s Alex Gallafent spoke with the country’s top diplomat at the United Nations.

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Maldives' Ambassador at the United Nations, Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed

(Photo: Alex Gallafent)

• BBC coverage
• President Nasheed’s office