By the end of the next century, the tiny island nation of Maldives could simply disappear under the sea. An expected increase of 50 cm in the sea level would swallow the island nation sometime in the next century. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, there could be a 50-cm rise in average sea level by the year 2100. The highest point in the Maldives is just 1.6 m above sea level. Even a small rise in the sea level could spell doom for the 1,190 islands of Maldives.