Nature and Climate: Report: Almost all shallow-water coral reefs highly threatened
Heat causes coral to bleach, overfishing and coastal development add to the stress. The reefs could still recover - but what needs to happen for that to occur?
A global study of 127 shallow-water coral reefs has found that 96 percent are threatened with extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The reefs, which are home to a high diversity of species due to their water temperature and sunlight, include parts of the Great Barrier Reef, the Coral Triangle, and the Red Sea.
The IUCN has added these reefs to its Red List of Ecosystems, which assesses the risk of collapse of habitats. Rising ocean temperatures, largely due to climate change, are a major threat to coral reefs, causing them to bleach and die.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
