Today, we take a look at Malé

the capital and most populous city in the Republic of Maldives.

The Maldives consist of a chain of around 1200 small coral islands

that are grouped into clusters of atolls

scattered across 90 000 sq km of ocean.

A number of these little islands can be seen in the image,

with the turquoise colours depicting clear, shallow waters

dotted by coral reefs

which contrasts with the dark colours of the Indian Ocean.

Malé,

located at the southern edge of the North Malé Atoll,

can be easily spotted from space.

The island is small enough to walk around in approximately one hour,

with most sights concentrated on its northern shore.

Malé is both a trade and tourist centre,

connected with Sri Lanka and India by steamship lines,

with several vessels visible in the image.

With a population of more than 200 000

and an area of around eight sq km,

Malé is one of the most densely populated cities in the world

with the city covering almost the entire island.

The Maldives also has the lowest terrain of any country in the world,

making the archipelago particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise.

In response to this threat,

the Maldives is working on enhancing the resilience of the country's islands,

which includes constructing the artificial island of Hulhumale

visible northeast of the airport.

The island has been constructed by pumping sand from the seafloor

onto a submerged coral platform,

that rises around 2 m above sea level.

The reclaimed land provides some much-needed space,

and will also help meet the industrial  and commercial development of the region.

Satellite data have shown that the global ocean has risen,

on average,

3 mm a year over the last 25 years.

Warming ocean waters,

melting glaciers

and diminishing ice sheets

is making rising sea levels a real threat for low-lying islands

such as the Maldives.

Following liftoff in November 2020,

the Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite,

the most advanced mission dedicated  to measuring sea-level rise,

is now fully operational

meaning that its data are available to climate researchers,

ocean-weather forecasts

and other data users.

Learn more about the Sentinel-6 mission,

by visiting our website at www.esa.int

Earth from Space is taking a short break during the month of August,

but join us again in September for a weekly tour of our planet

every Friday at 10:00.

Are there any locations you would like us to feature?

Make sure you let us know in the comments below.

From everyone at the Earth from Space team,

we wish you all a lovely summer.