A study from November found a 13 percent size increase since 1943 in Jeh Island, a part of the drowning Republic of Marshall Islands, which’ve been called the most endangered nation due to rising sea levels.

The Marshall Islands lie in the Central Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and the Philippines, and consist of volcanic islands and 29 coral reef atolls, which are low-lying deposits of sediments derived from reefs around the past 5000 years.

“We have found islands are resilient in the face of rising seas and that sediment supply to some atolls is out-pacing sea level rise,” Dr. Murray Ford, the study’s co-author, said in a press release.

The present‐day Jeh, inhabited by about 40 homes, is formed by the merging of two or more smaller islands. Through radiocarbon dating and satellite imagery, scientists found that the island is continuing to expand despite being vulnerable to submerging from sea‐level rise.

However, atolls are only about two meters above the sea, and levels could rise beyond that by the end of the century.

“For the atoll nations, climate change is not a distant threat for a future generation to face but an immediate emergency, with tropical storms and rising seas taking their toll on human lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure,” Asian Development Bank President, Mr. Takehiko Nakao said last year in a conference on climate change’s effects on atoll nations.

Satellite data indicates the sea level near the Marshall Islands has risen by about 7 mm per year since 1993, which is about 3.4 to 4.2 mm greater than the global average, according to a report by Pacific Climate Change Science.

“The fact that some islands aren't ‘sinking’ doesn't mean climate change isn't an issue -- it is still very much a concern,” CNN reports.

Many low-lying atoll islands such as the Marshall Islands in the Central Pacific Ocean are expected to be uninhabitable by the mid-21st century due to rising sea levels, according to a 2018 study.

“It isn't certain if coral reefs will continue to protect the atolls from sea level rise in the future,” EcoWatch reports.