Rising sea levels threaten Senegal's coastal town of Bargny: Video
Bargny, a coastal town near Dakar, Senegal, faces an existential threat from rising sea levels, which have already caused severe damage to homes and infrastructure.
Cracked walls, sunken buildings, and collapsing roofs are a common sight, leaving residents in fear of losing their town entirely.
Local resident Ndeye Yacine Dieng, 67, expressed her fears to the AFP saying, "I'm scared and I have no doubt that if solutions aren't found, Bargny will disappear." Dieng, like many others, uses makeshift defences such as sand-filled rice sacks and old tyres to protect her beachfront home from the encroaching waves. "Three-quarters of my house has already been swallowed by the sea," she adds.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has long warned that African coastal communities are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels due to climate change.
In Bargny, the sea advances by about two meters each year, according to local environmental advocate Medoune Ndoye. He highlights that places of worship, cemeteries, and hundreds of homes have already been claimed by the ocean.
"Almost every year, two metres of coastline move forward. Two metres, the sea advances by two meters. And I can confirm that. Because in history we've encountered, our grandfathers who are in this area, there are places of worship like mosques and cemeteries that have already been taken by the sea. Hundreds of houses have also been swallowed up by the sea," he said.
Ndoye and other residents are calling on the Senegalese government to implement policies such as breakwaters to slow the sea's advance, as well as a resettlement program for those already affected.
