First and foremost, address data gaps, says Maharaj. "We don't have data on future sea-level rise and wave climate projections for most islands. Think about that. We're so exposed and vulnerable on our coastlines." Islands also need more information on the value of ecosystems services to tackling climate change, she says, and studies to model their

After two of the country's most costly natural disasters struck within two years of each other ( 2015  and  2017 ), Dominica’s prime minister declared the country had found itself "on the front line of the war on climate change" and  announced plans to make Do

minica "the world’s first climate-resilient nation ". Buildin

Small island developing states  like Dominica are  disproportionately impacted by climate change , meaning they  stand to lose even more  than other countries if the global community and big greenhouse gas emitters fail to meet commitments to cut emissions.

This element of neighbourly communication is hugely important for early warning systems, says Jennifer Trivedi, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Delaware's Disaster Research Center.

"Often, when I ask people in the field where they heard about an incoming hurricane, or changing floodwaters, they talk about hearing it from fri

Because that’s what it was like before the Internet. You made your own fun.

Before the Internet, if you were in need of some facts you might actually decide to consult an old person, like the one living in your finished basement.

Then you’d walk outside and squint at the sky, just you in your body, not tethered to any network, adrift by yourself in a world of strangers in the sunlight.