Supermoon: The Side Effects Affecting the Marshall Islands

The weekend of June 22nd to the 23rd was a time everyone in the world was looking forward to seeing the supermoon. A supermoon is a ntural phenomenon where the moon is closer to earth than usual, causing to it to appear larger and brighter. Though this phenomenon is very interesting and wonderful to look at, it has its side effects.

As many of you may know, the moon is also linked to the tide. Depending on the moon, the tide may be higher or lower. This, mixed with the ongoing issue of sea level rise, becomes a threat for some of the islands in the Pacific. On June 24th (June 25th in the Marshalls), we saw what the mixture of the two can do to the islands. A Supermoon caused the tide to rise by up to one inch higher. This caused the water to reach land level in certain parts of Majuro, resulting in a tsunami like result. Though no casualities were reported, it is clear that it is only a matter of time before events such as these become normal in the low land areas.