AAPI Month: Guam’s Climate Crisis

By Erika Pietrzak, May 29 , 2025

Climate change and environmental degradation are impacting Guam’s ecosystems and communities at nearly every level.

Guam is an island between Hawaii and Japan in the Pacific Ocean with a population of more than 150,000 people. Guam is the westernmost point of all of the United States territories and is a non-self-governing unincorporated US territory. The natives, known as the Chamoru people, navigated to Guam from Southeast Asia over four thousand years ago. Now, Guam is made up of primarily Chamoru and Filipino communities. Sea levels in the Pacific Island region have been rising by approximately 0.39 inches annually over the last few decades. Three of the most vulnerable villages in Guam to climate change are predominantly Chamoru citizens. Due to a lack of representation in United States politics, Guam has little support when facing climate change.

The United States has had a large hand in causing environmental degradation in Guam. The US military owns one-third of the land of Guam, with three major bases holding more than 10 thousand military personnel. Long ago, the United States “trapped [the Chamoru people] in a cycle of dependency and disempowerment, while the U.S. military continue[d] to exploit the island’s resources, leaving environmental destruction in its wake.” For decades, the Air Force base in the northern part of the island leached hazardous substances into Guam’s drinking water. Military bases have also destroyed sacred land for the Chamoru people and left toxic waste that has contaminated the soil. Cleanup is still ongoing, but the US is paying for less than one-third of its cost. This exploitation is particularly relevant as five thousand US Marines are expected to arrive in Guam soon as part of a larger relocation of the large marine presence in Japan. In preparation for their arrival, more than one thousand acres of forest were destroyed to expand one of the military camps.

Climate change is severely impacting Guam and its people. Sea level rise is severely threatening Guam. The sea level has risen by four inches in Guam since 1993 with an average of 0.13 inches per year. Scientists estimate that sea levels will continue to rise another one to three feet before the end of the century. Seventy-three percent of the infrastructure in southern Guam will be impacted by the staggering sea level rise. Sea level rise also threatens around nine thousand of Guam’s residents. Along with flooding and loss of arable land, many residents have relocated or left the Pacific Islands altogether. Climate refugees from Guam are expected to increase as protections for the Pacific Islands’ environment are attacked by the Trump administration.

Extreme temperatures and decreased rainfall are combined for a deadly combination in Guam. Rising temperatures are expected to increase to the point where 257 days out of the year are above 88 degrees Fahrenheit in Guam by the end of the century. This is a skyrocketing up from just five days in the 1950s and 36 days in the 1990s. Outdoor laborers, children, and the elderly are at particular risk of this extreme heat. There is an expected decrease in rainfall by 12 percent during the rainy season of the next 50 years. Droughts are likely to increase as rainfall decreases, which will cause prime conditions for more wildfires in the region. Residents will suffer from higher risks of heat stroke and booming electric bills. 

Guam has experienced more than a one degree Fahrenheit rise in sea surface temperatures since 1901. These warming waters harm the algae that live inside corals which in turn weaken and can eventually kill the corals. This is what is commonly known as coral bleaching because the loss of algae turns the coral white. Over one-third of Guam’s shallow corals were bleached because of extremely high temperatures. Climate change is also causing oceans to become more acidic, due to the increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the air. This increased acidity is also harming corals in Guam with a 25 percent increase in acidity over the last three centuries. This is problematic because “higher acidity decreases the ability of corals to produce calcium carbonate, which is the primary component of their skeletons.” This will only get worse as acidity is likely to increase another 40 to 50 percent by 2100. Not only would this harm corals, but acidity would also harm shellfish and other organisms that help with water quality. This could cause a mass extinction of Guam’s sea life as the base of the food chain and species’ homes are destroyed.

Extreme weather events rattle the residents of Guam regularly and are likely to become even more frequent. Guam lies in one of the world’s most active typhoon regions, known as Typhoon Alley. As reefs die, their coral structures will no longer be able to protect shorelines, allowing for strong storms to erode the shoreline more than previously possible. Typhoons are expected to become even stronger as climate change worsens. This constant “disrupt[ion of] daily life and economic processes, leading to exorbitant recovery costs and long-term developmental setbacks” will strain the island’s resources and economy.

The soils of Guam are also at great risk. The coconut palm, known as the “tree of life” in Guam and holds extreme cultural importance, is at risk of being wiped out by coconut rhinoceros beetles and other invasive species. The debris caused by typhoons are prime breeding grounds for coconut rhinoceros beetles, which are likely to see their populations continue to rise as typhoons become more regular. The accidental introduction of another invasive species, the brown tree snake, has been catastrophic for native bird populations, diminishing the number of birds that prey on the coconut rhinoceros beetles. These losses in coconut palm may be detrimental to tourism and threaten food security in Guam.

Climate change and environmental degradation are impacting Guam’s ecosystems and communities at nearly every level. Between global climate change that heavily impacts islands like Guam and the United States’ involvement in worsening existing conditions over the last several decades, Guam’s environmental future looks bleak at its current rate. In 2022, the National Fish and Wildlife Federation and the United States Navy partnered to create the Guam Habitat Conservation Initiative, an important step forward in America’s responsibility for Guam’s current condition. However, with the expected arrival of thousands of U.S. troops and the Trump Administration’s promises for drilling in the Pacific could reverse any progress.

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