'All we can do now is run away' Is time up for the sinking islands of San Bernardo?

Islanders on this archipelago live only a few metres above sea level, while authorities fail to take action as climate change brings oblivion closer each year

- Iñigo Alexander 

People on the tiny Colombian island of Santa Cruz del Islote are used to having their sleep disrupted by the gentle lap of waves. But what might sound relaxing and blissful can actually be unnatural and menacing.

Rising from bed, islanders feel a splash as their feet touch the floor, and know that their homes have once again been flooded.

Santa Cruz del Islote, part of the San Bernardo archipelago, a few kilometres off Colombia's Caribbean coast, is typical of many of the world's lowlying coastal regions now at the forefront of the escalating battle against the climate crisis.

"It's very worrying. The tides and sea levels are rising and flooding many homes. We're worried that our islands are disappearing," said Adrián Caraballo, a young islander and local climate campaigner.

Caraballo recalls wading through ankle-deep water on the streets during one recent flood on Santa Cruz del Islote, which is one of the most densely populated islands in the world.

The archipelago's 10 tiny islands are part of a protected natural park and are home to about 1,500 people. They lie amid an intricate web of coral reefs and a dense maze of mangroves at an average of only 2 metres above the waterline.

Global sea levels are expected to rise by up to 30cm by 2050, threatening the livelihood of San Bernardo's people, and ultimately the very existence of the islands.