Small island nations plead for their survival amid rising sea levels

World leaders taking the stage at this week’s United Nations General Assembly are warning about sea level rise and the impacts of climate change in the most dire and personal terms.

Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine said even if vulnerable lands are submerged, their nations should still be recognized. “We must also be clear,” she said. “We will not be wiped out off the map, nor will we go silently to our watery graves.”

In a…