First of four parts
Two prominent research organizations confirmed a few weeks ago what scientists had long thought: the world’s warm water coral reefs are bleaching en masse for the fourth time in 25 years.
Corals are collections of hundreds of thousands of tiny animals. Often a riot of colors, they turn a boney white when they are under stress, which can be a precursor to their death.
Scientists believe surging ocean temperatures, driven in part by climate change, are responsible for the latest bleaching event, which has spanned from Panama to Australia―and is getting worse.
Experts say corals are among the most vulnerable ecosystems on the planet to climate change. These undersea cities, which support 25 percent of marine life, could virtually disappear by the end of this century.
“The loss of corals would be a true tragedy from a biodiversity and economic perspective,” says Leticia Carvalho, the head of the marine and freshwater branch of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). “It would be devastating for one of the richest ecosystems on our blue planet and hundreds of millions of people around the world who depend on coastal fisheries.”
Corals can be found throughout the ocean, from the balmy waters of the Red Sea to the frigid depths of the North Atlantic. But perhaps the best known live in the warm, shallow waters of the tropics, where they form stunning, multi-colored reefs.
(To be continued) UNEP News
