UN chief says Pacific Island nations most affected by ocean warming 'need for urgent help'

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said ocean temperatures in the Pacific island countries are rising three times faster than globally, and the region's population is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels.

Guterres referred to the report's findings in a speech at the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga on Tuesday. The Southwest Pacific will be hardest hit by sea level rise, with some areas seeing sea levels rise more than twice as fast as the global average over the past 30 years, according to the survey.

"I am here in Tonga to send a global distress signal about sea level rise in this region -- please save our oceans," Guterres said.

"Rising sea levels are increasing the frequency and severity of storm surges and coastal flooding. These floods inundated coastal communities. Destroy the fishing industry. Damage to crops. Pollute fresh water. All of this puts Pacific island nations in grave danger."

He says water expands as it warms, causing sea levels to rise.

Climate change and security are key topics at this year's Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting, whose 18 members include atoll states threatened by rising sea levels, such as host Tonga; Australia, one of the world's largest coal exporters, is also a member of the Pacific Islands Forum.

The Pacific Islands Forum kicked off on August 26 in Nuku 'alofa, Tonga, for a week.