First climate migrants arrive in Australia from sinking Tuvalu in South Pacific

Aerial view of Funafuti, Tuvalu’s most populous island, September 6, 2024. Picture taken through plane window. REUTERS/Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY, Dec 11 (Reuters) - The first climate migrants to leave the remote Pacific island nation of Tuvalu have arrived in Australia, hoping to preserve links to their sinking island home, foreign affairs officials said on Thursday.

More than one-third of Tuvalu's 11,000 population applied for a climate visa to migrate to Australia, under a deal struck between the two countries two years ago.