, Columnist
Corals Are in Peril. Life Without Them Would Be Dire.
Global warming is putting extreme stress on reefs on which human and marine life depend.
Rising ocean temperatures are destroying coral reefs.
Photographer: Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images
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This broiling year is turning out to be a window onto a grim possible future in which global warming leaves humanity with a vastly different and less hospitable planet.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the fragile reef ecosystems built by corals, to the benefit of other marine life and humans alike. Now, with ocean temperatures soaring, corals are in extreme peril. Our warming path could push them to extinction.