When will the Maldives go under water?

The Maldives is very low, so sea level matters, but no official source gives a date when it will disappear. Here are the World Bank figures and what is being done.

How low the islands are

• According to the World Bank, 80 percent of the Maldives’ land area is less than 1 m above mean sea level, and the maximum elevation is 2.4 m. Where the Maldives are
• That is why even a small rise in sea level can bring more flooding, salt in the groundwater and damage to the coast.
• We found no official source that gives a year when the Maldives will go under water.

What the projections say

• The World Bank uses IPCC AR6 projections relative to 1995 to 2015. For the high-emission scenario SSP5-8.5 it gives 0.77 m of sea-level rise by 2100, with a range of 0.63 to 1.01 m. For a lower-emission pathway it gives 0.56 m, with a range of 0.44 to 0.76 m.
• The World Bank also says confidence in impact assessments for the Maldives is low, because of uncertainty about emissions and a lack of detailed local data. A UN legal paper notes that there are no Maldives-specific projections.
• So we do not publish a year table. Popular dates such as 2050 are not official projections.

What is being done

• Hulhumalé, a reclaimed island next to Malé, was raised to about 1.8 m above mean sea level, while natural islands are about 1 m, according to a 2020 study in the Journal of Flood Risk Management.
• The same study found that overtopping becomes likely at about 0.6 m of sea-level rise and severe flooding at about 0.9 m, and that seawalls of 0.5 to 1.5 m could delay flooding.
• For a visitor, the islands are open and welcoming today. Ask us about your dates. The ocean around the Maldives

Reviewed by the Relax Residence team in October 2026.