The rise in global temperatures has pushed ocean heat to levels where most coral reefs can no longer survive, scientists warned in a report released on Monday. For the first time, researchers have declared that the Earth may have crossed a “dangerous threshold,” posing a risk of major and possibly irreversible changes to the planet’s natural systems.
Tim Lenton, the lead author of the report and a climate and global systems scientist at the University of Exeter, said the findings were alarming. “Unfortunately, we are now quite certain that we have crossed a dangerous boundary for warm-water or tropical coral reefs,” he stated.
The report, prepared by 160 scientists from research institutions around the world, highlights a growing consensus that once global warming exceeds 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, most coral reefs will be destroyed. Experts warn that this threshold could be reached within the next few years.
Due to rising ocean temperatures, corals are losing their natural color and food sources. When exposed to prolonged heat stress, corals expel the algae living in their tissues, causing them to turn white—a process known as coral bleaching. Without cooler waters, bleached corals struggle to recover and gradually die from starvation.
The report serves as yet another urgent reminder of the escalating consequences of climate change and the diminishing window to protect some of the planet’s most vital marine ecosystems. (AFP)
