These two children live with their family on the island's ocean side amidst storm debris and palm trees that have fallen over from erosion. Their generation will be the last generation of Tuvaluan youngsters to play here. There is currently no status for those who must leave their home due to climate change other than "refugee."

In the middle of the Western Pacific, extreme weather events have become increasingly common. With most atolls only 3.3 feet above sea level, many homes and structures have been lost to frequent storms. Seawater seeps up below the porous coral atoll during king tides, contaminating fresh water and killing gardens. As families retreat to higher ground encroaching onto other people's family land, it is causing many disputes in their traditionally peaceful communities.

The capital atoll of Funafuti, Tuvalu, is a narrow sweep of land between 20 and 400 meters (66 and 1,312 feet) wide, encircling a large lagoon (Te Namo) 18 km (11 miles) long and 14 km (9 miles) wide. It is easy to see how the entire island is inundated with water during the ever-increasing storms and king tides of climate change. At its most narrow point, the capital atoll of Funafuti, Tuvalu, is about 25 steps across.

View of the narrow land bridge on Weno Island, Chuuk. This higher elevation area is likely will remain above water. Many people here and on smaller outer islands rely on fishing as the main food source. With sunken World War II ships seeping oil and gas into the pristine coral lagoon, even if there is island, the ocean may be so polluted there will not be a safe food supply. The estimated cost to remove the ships from the lagoon is in the multi-millions of dollars, which the government does not have since many of its resources are needed to address climate change adaptation.

Rush hour on the capital island of Funafuti, Tuvalu’s population is about 6,025 people, making it the most populated atoll in the country, with 56.6 percent of Tuvalu's population. Some people moving from outer islands have not needed paper money and only lived on traditional diets. Now they work for money to buy imported processed food causing a diabetes epidemic.

Free-dive hunting with local fishers on the reef by Abaiang Atoll in Kiribati. These fishermen know the ocean currents and reefs so well, we drifted with the current for two hours back to their hammocks on the beach. For the thousands who live as subsistence fishers, leaving their homes will mean leaving the only way of life and job skills they have.

An abandoned house that was flooded during a storm on Funafuti, Tuvalu. This low-lying atoll nation is about 3.3 feet above sea level, and during extreme high tides, saltwater floods much of the island.

For many subsistence fishers and farmers on these atolls, moving will mean leaving their way of life and their well-honed skills from living so close to nature. Those skills may not translate directly to employable jobs in another country.

Abandoned automobiles and garbage from storms and improper disposal line the shores of Chuuk. As many of these Small Island Developing States struggle to establish themselves, they lack the resources to export garbage off the island and battle climate change.

Seaside living in Chuuk can be a dangerous proposition during extreme weather, which is now the new normal weather for this part of the Pacific.

“‘Nangoa Wagm Nte Tauraoi’ (Be ready at all costs) is a saying that is taught to young people in Kiribati, "it gives you a mentality of always being aware and proactive. I guess you could make mean to be who you are as iKiribati - self-pride.” These sisters moved from a small outer island to the capital island Tarawa so their dad could build a new seawall (behind them) for a government building. The family of 5 displaced from their idyllic outer island home, lives in a shack constructed of sticks and a tin roof on the construction site.