Headlines 'exaggerated' climate link to sinking of Pacific islands

Report's author says many media outlets have misinterpreted the science by conflating sea-level rise with climate change

Links between climate change and the sinking of five islands in the Pacific Ocean have been exaggerated, the author of a widely reported new study has said.

The report, published on Friday, tracked the shapeshifting of 33 reef islands in the Solomon Islands between 1947 and 2014. It found that five had been washed away completely and six more had been severely eroded. The study blamed the loss on a combination of sea-level rise and high wave energy.