Climate Changed
Global Warming Is Starving the World’s Reefs Faster Than Ever
- Rising water temperatures are increasing the rate of bleaching
- Even safe pockets could disappear by mid-century, study says
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The risks to coral reefs are accelerating largely due to human activity, with rising water temperatures meaning they now have about 80 percent less recovery time between bleaching episodes than just three decades ago, according to a report in the journal Science.
In a study of 100 reefs around the world, the report found coral will have a bleaching event every six years, from every 27 years in the 1980s, when mass bleaching events began to be observed. With the likelihood of human activity causing further increases in sea temperature, reefs may bleach every hot summer in coming decades, the report said.