THE END OF CORAL REEFS?: Coral reefs are vital for both marine life and humans. But a new study found the world may just be a few years from a 'catastrophic' bleaching event that leaves almost every reef on Earth vulnerable — and potentially, dead.
The United Nations has warned the continued use of fossil fuels is hurtling the planet to 1.5°C of global warming, relative to 1850-1900 levels, a threshold that will result in"unprecedented" extreme weather events. According to new research, climate change will also result in coral bleaching that will be"catastrophic" for reefs, and potentially, the marine life that live around them.
But as climate change continues to negatively impact the planet, it will"overwhelm" those reefs, researchers said, and almost none of them will be able to escape a grave scenario. , published in PLOS Climate on Tuesday, focused on thermal refugia, areas of coral reefs that can maintain the temperatures that coral reefs need to survive, even as nearby ocean temperatures increase.
Humans' excessive rates of deforestation and overuse and burning of fossil fuels, which greatly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and heat within Earth's atmosphere, are the primary driver for the anticipated outcome of global warming. Scott Heron, a physics professor at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies in Australia,
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