Nearly half of tropical coral species face extinction, report shows

RFI

13 November 2024 at 10:29 am·1-min read

Bleached coral on the Great Barrier Reef outside Cairns Australia during a mass bleaching event, thought to have been caused by heat stress due to warmer water temperatures as a result of global climate change.

Almost half of all warm-water species of coral are threatened with extinction due to climate change, a new report said on Wednesday. This marked a significant increase from the last assessment in 2008, when a third of all species was listed as threatened.

The updated risk assessment from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) was announced at the Cop29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, which is being skipped by the leaders of many top polluting nations.

Oceans have absorbed around 90 percent of the excess heat in the atmosphere due to the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Window to save Australia's Great Barrier Reef is closing fast, report warns

Rising ocean temperatures have spurred mass bleaching events at coral reefs across the world, threatening crucial ecosystems for marine life as well as the livelihoods of people who rely on them.

The updated assessment of the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species looked at reef-building corals, which live in warm, shallow waters in tropical areas.

Most reef-building coral is found across the Indo-Pacific region, such as Australia's Great Barrier Reef which suffered one its worst-ever bleaching events this year

(with AFP)

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