Once in a hundred years – extreme weather events are being experienced one in every ten years now.

While speaking at the UN Security Council on the impacts of Climate Change, Minister for Climate Change Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the gap between life-threatening events is becoming less and less.

Sayed-Khaiyum says this is evident in Fiji.

“The severe consequences of extreme weather patterns in Fiji and across the world has been highlighted repeatedly by our Prime Minister during Fiji’s presidency of COP23. Relentless sea level rise is a threat multiply to our economies and societies.”

Sayed-Khaiyum says extreme weather patterns make our economies and societies more fragile.

He says they have seen time and time again that when economic and social fragility increase, institutions suffer and they become more open to manipulation by extremists, corruption, international criminal syndicates and geopolitical opportunist.

Sayed-Khaiyum reiterates that this also makes our borders more porous.