The low-lying Maldives

The Maldives are indeed very low-lying: the country’s report to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change gives an average island elevation of about 1.5 m above mean sea level, with roughly 80% of islands below 1 m. But predicting that the country will be “underwater in about 100 years” is too categorical: sea-level projections depend on emissions scenarios, and the risks include flooding, erosion, and saltwater intrusion—not only complete loss of land.