Poor Mozambique! It is washed away by the inexorably rising waters of its own fluidity, and yet one cannot help but feel that one may have contributed in some small way to the catastrophe.
Not that you and I, of course, are individually culpable for drowning Mozambique, but it must be said that the human race, of which we are a part, has altered the complexion of our planet in ways that may well have had a bearing on the issue. Collectively, we have affected the global environment to an extent never approached by any other species.
And what a mess we leave behind us. There are holes in the ozone layer, nuclear waste escapes at regular intervals, we alter the delicate balance of our atmosphere and pollute our oceans with our oil, and the vast rain forests of the world, important regulators of our climate, are progressively diminished.
Meanwhile, the average global temperature regularly beats its previous best, as it rises, rises, rises, year by year.
There is no firm evidence that the unusually severe weather events of recent times - the apparent increase in the frequency and ferocity of hurricanes, the unusual droughts and floods in many places, and the premature resurgence of a very strong El Nino a year or two ago - have been triggered by the observed increase in global temperature.
After all, for nearly every such event a previous occurrence of similar severity can be identified. But there is a strong suspicion that global warming may have been be responsible.
The key to better understanding these issues lies in the combined study of human behaviour and natural science, a combination which is addressed to a large extent by geographers.
And one such is Prof Eckart Ehlers, professor of geography at the University of Bonn in Germany and secretary-general of the International Geographical Union (IGU), a forum to promote, facilitate and co-ordinate geographical research with an international dimension.
Here in Dublin for a meeting of the IGU executive committee, he has agreed to give a talk to the Royal Irish Academy which will focus very much upon these matters.
A talk in the RIA is called a "discourse", and this one is entitled "Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change: Scientific Perspectives and Methodological Problems". .
Prof Ehlers will address the environmental impact of population growth and steadily increasing consumption, and illustrate how apparently local issues like land degradation, water scarcity and deforestation have potential global significance.
Admission this evening, Thursday, March 2nd, to the premises of the RIA in Dawson Street is free, and the proceedings start on the dot of 8 p.m.