The increase in sea temperatures caused by climate crisis triggered the fourth mass coral bleaching in 30 yearsThe second in the last 10. This means the death of vast areas of coral reef and very serious consequences for the entire ocean ecosystem. This is the most intense event of its kind ever recorded and for now it affects the 54% of global coral reefsbut the percentage is growing by 1% every week. The previous record, recorded between 2014 and 2017, stood at 56%.
Where the bleaching is happening
As reported by scientists from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)mass bleaching began in February 2023 and has not yet stopped, affecting the Northern Hemisphere, the Southern Hemisphere, and each major ocean basin. No coral reef in the tropics was spared and the findings confirm how the event affected the coral formations ofAtlantic, Pacific, Indian Oceanbut also of some internal areas such as Red Sea.
To have points of reference, I Mass bleaching hits corals off Florida, Caribbean, Brazil, Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, the Great Australian Barrier Reef, Fiji, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Samoa, French Polynesia, Tanzania, Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles, Tromelin, Mayotte, Indonesia, in Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden. “As the oceans continue to warm, coral bleaching is becoming more frequent and severe,” Derek Manzello said. NOAA coordinator.
The causes
Coral bleaching occurs when they are put under stress by high temperatures, to which they react by expelling the colored algae living in their tissues. Without these beneficial algae, corals turn pale and are vulnerable to starvation and disease. Whitening has then devastating effects on the entire ocean ecosystemas well as for the survival of economies based on fishing and tourism, because About 25% of marine species depend on coral reefsincluding about 4 thousand species of fish.
According to NOAA forecasts, if the ongoing climate crisis is not stopped, bleaching phenomena will continue to increase in frequency and extent over the years. For this reason, NOAA has already begun to take containment measures, including the moving coral nurseries into deeper waters and fresh or the installation of systems to shade the barriers where it is not possible to move the corals.
However, these are emergency stratagems that cannot be used in the long term. Even in this case, the only solution lies in a rapid and consistent one reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and in the implementation of ambitious and decisive climate policies by all the richest countries in the world, i.e. those mainly responsible for the crisis.
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