coming up on this week's travel show: i'm in the maldives, meeting the people working to protect a unique underwater environment. and go swimming with sharks but live to tell the tale. even though you know they're not dangerous, every time you get touched by a fin you sort of bounce a little bit. squeals. for many of us, the maldives are a dream destination. with their pristine, white sandy beaches, clear blue sea and skies,

and luxurious over—water villas, the maldives epitomise high—end holidays. this is my first time in the maldives and it's absolutely beautiful! it's just like, the colours of the water and the environment is just amazing — so much wildlife. i don't want to leave. i don't think i can i'm stuck in the sand. laughs. but despite their iconic image, this is a country under threat — officially the lowest nation on earth, so climate change and rising tides threaten to potentially destroy this unique environment. there is no doubt that the consequences of global warming have a big effect on places like the maldives. but i've come here to learn more about local projects that are trying to rectify some of the problems that have been caused in part by tourism, too. and we're starting with something

that up until now, most tourists haven't wanted to see on their pristine beaches, but which is vital in the fight against climate change — seagrass. so, sandra, tell me, what is seagrass? seagrass is actually very important because it has some of the functions in the ocean. not only is it a habitat or nursery for many animals, many fish, during different stages of their life. but it also provides most of the oxygen that we need for us, for breathing. and what's the biggest threat to seagrass? in most of the reserves, they thought seagrass looked ugly for the guests because it wasn't the white sand they wanted in pictures. they used to remove it from the beach. because of that, yeah... the project is to mostly avoid removing seagrass around the lagoon and not doing any action or activity next to the seagrass.

so if it can grow by itself it will be healthy. you don't need to do anything, just take care of what you have. let's take a look at the seagrass. sure! it is estimated that the world's oceans lose the equivalent of two soccer pitches‘ worth of seagrass every hour of every day. but it stores carbon more effectively than rainforests. it's vital that it thrives. i took it for granted — i thought it was like weeds. there is a lack of information. most people think it is like dirty algae, but it really keep the water very clean and houses many,

many kinds of fish. people need to have a different mentality and they have to see areas with seagrass as areas where it is helpful. here in the maldives, many resorts are realising that healthy underwater ecosystems are more important than tourists‘ ideals of what the ocean floor should look like. for many tourists, this is a long—haul destination. and at a time when we are being encouraged to be more mindful about how we travel, isn't there a contradiction here? i think people's understanding of climate change has grown over recent times and when you come to a destination like this, it is a real once—in—a—lifetime bucket list. when you get here and see the quality of the water and the colours and the contradiction with the sky and all those amazing things, we have an opportunity

to then be able to educate about the people of climate change. i don't think it is going to be easy but i think we have to understand that travel also benefits a lot of the communities that people are going to. if we can educate people when they come to environment like this and give them an understanding of the challenges that are fazed by climate change, and hopefully when they go home that is a benefit to them and their local community as well. coral reefs don't just look great in photos, they contain more biodiversity than any other ecosystem on the planet. so it's essential they don't disappear. even though they cover less than i% of the ocean floor, they are home to over 25% of the world's fish species. here in the maldives is an ongoing programme to restock damaged reefs.

coral is an animal, actually. an animal?! not a plant? it is related to jellyfish and anemones in the ocean. the polyps live together and help each other to build this skeleton. we pick up some corals that are broken for any reason and they are on the sand, so they will die, because they will be covered by sand. what we will do is keep this healthy part from the coral and put them back on our nursery. our nursery is around 5—6 metres in depth than with a sandy bottom, the method is to use these robes hanging on metal frames. —— ropes. 0k. i want to try and attach a piece. let's see. i will put it through here... i would do like this,

and then fasten it. tighten it as much as you can so it will not fall. this must take hours to do? actually, the process is quite fast. we need to do it faster as well because they need to be underwater. basically, what you're doing here is replicating nature? exactly. we are helping to make this process faster. so not mother nature, sandra nature. exactly. it's good to know tourists are engaging with these conservation projects. even if i never come back here again, it's good to know i have left a mark, hopefully in a positive way. you look ready to go. everything is ready now. what will you do now? i will bring this rope to the nursery and it is perfect conditions for it to attach and grow properly. we don't need to do much more. i have noticed it says "bbc travel show"? these will be your baby corals. good luck!

iamoff iam off on iamoffona i am off on a snorkelling trip which i'm told there's going to be very special. let's go, driver. antoine, you've taken me to this lovely location. what are we going to do here? we're going to jump in the water

and swim with sharks. they are quite big, about two metres, don't worry, they are harmless. they are tiny nurse sharks. they are fat guys. a fat shark sounds like a good shark to me. a skinny, hungry shark, that i would be worried about. there is no need to worry because they are harmless. they cannot bite you, all right? they have teeth inside their throat. they are feeding on crabs and shells and octopus, so we are too big for them. they will ignore you. ok, here goes. i'm going in there with the nurse sharks. wish me luck. flipping heck! one minute i was just floating,

then antoine said, "look below you." and quite literally, brushing past my feet, was a nurse shark. it's nuts! oh, my days! they are just so close! oh, my god! even though you know they are not dangerous, every time you get touched by a fin you just sort of bounce... squeals. that was absolutely awesome. you can see their eyes

and they look so mean, even though antoine told me how they're tame, i still got worried, especially when you get touched by them. i mean, when do you ever get touched by a shark? in the maldives! what an experience. it has been an awful start to a new week with the worst arm to push across the whole of the uk for over seven years. storm ciara are starting to ease but it left major disruption, damaging wind, flooding rain and significant disruption to power. —— worst storm. it is starting to move its way steadily south and east and interlinear continent, taking damaging wind and rain south—east. behind it, somewhat noticeable difference that the feel of the weather and we see cool air

pushing down from the north—west, wintry many gay feature that will continue to dry in frequent showers, particularly across the exposed west facing coast, but many further inland. some falling as snow, icy stretches in scotland, tempt is close to freezing by dawn. a treacherous commute, it looks as though we will keep 80 of ice bars across the uk for the start of the new working week. a windy monday morning for all, plenty of showers, rushing in from the west, again these will continue to be of snow above 100—150 metres in scotland, northern ireland and northern eglin. cool in the afternoon, 4—8dc, showers across england and was heavy with hail and funder. worth bearing in mind forthe with hail and funder. worth bearing in mind for the early parts of this week, frequent snow showers and issue across the northern hills. accumulations, strong wind, blizzard conditions, drifting very much a feature. that will be the story again on tuesday, spot the

difference, plenty of showers, mostly sleet and snow across the far north, a cold feel to things as well. the south, fewer showers but still the temperatures struggling, six or seven celsius. tuesday into wednesday, isobars six or seven celsius. tuesday into wednesday, isoba rs opening, six or seven celsius. tuesday into wednesday, isobars opening, a brief ridge of high pressure will allow for a quieter moment in the middle pa rt for a quieter moment in the middle part of the week. wednesday likely to be the best age, fewer showers, more in the way of sunshine, more noticeably lighter window right across the board. temperatures still will range from four to nine celsius. that could lead to an early frost first thing on thursday, worth bearing in mind. not going to last, we do it all again with wet and windy weather pushing in from the west from thursday into friday, an u nsettled west from thursday into friday, an unsettled week ahead.

this is bbc news, i'm ben brown. the headlines at 7pm. storm ciara hits the uk with winds of more than 90 miles an hour — causing severe travel disruption across the country. there is widespread flooding. and one severe warning, meaning a danger to life, remains in place in north wales. i'm feeling very sad right now. set for the people that have been flooded yet again. just a massive burst and everything has all come down at the same time, and drains are blocked instantly. a fourth person in the uk has testested positive for corairus and is being treated at the e royal free hospital in london counting is under way in the irish general election — early indications are that sinn fein is set for major gains. as tinsel town gears up for the academy awards —