Torres Strait island faces erasure by 2050 as residents build defences
Masig Island sits in the Torres Strait. Rising seas will make it uninhabitable by 2050. Burial sites and homes will disappear.
Masig sits less than three metres above sea level in the Torres Strait. Masig's sandy shores are slowly worn away by rising tides.
Burial sites and playgrounds once safe inland are also receding. Scientists predict the island could become uninhabitable by 2050.
Yessie Mosby has watched the erosion advance with each of his seven children's births. Finding his great-great-grandmother's remains washed up on the beach became his turning point.
In response, islanders created the Masigilgal IPA in 2025. It shelters coral reefs and preserves cultural knowledge.
Mosby was among eight Torres Strait Islanders who won a landmark UN human rights ruling against Australia over climate inaction in 2022.
- Less than three metres above sea level
- Island elevation
- 2050
- Uninhabitable by
- 2025
- Protected area created
- Eight Torres Strait Islanders
- UN ruling claimants
Why it mattersAustralia's island communities face serious climate threats. They need urgent, funded action now. Without it, entire populations could become climate refugees.
AustraliaIndigenous Torres Strait Islander communities face displacement within 25 years unless Australia accelerates climate adaptation and sea-level defence investment.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 5 d ago
