The Great Calamity of Coral Reef

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In 1998, a full 16% of tropical coral reefs worldwide died, and by 2016, things got worse: 70% of the world's coral reefs were destroyed and some were irreparable. This year, a full 30% of the coral reefs on the Great Barrier Reef were catastrophic – the following year, the Australian “crown jewel” lost 50% of its corals.

So far, we have lost half of the world's coral reefs, and climate change is one of the biggest threats, and there is no sign of abating. Scientists say that if we do nothing, 90% of the world's tropical corals will be devastated by 2050, and all fish, wildlife and humans that depend on them will disappear.

Why are corals so fragile?

To understand why corals are so susceptible to climate change, one needs to understand their biological bizarre point: although most people think that corals are plants (even stones), they are actually animals. And they are not just animals, but clones that live in the same group of genes, called corals. To complicate matters, these corals are in a symbiotic relationship with the seaweeds living in their tissues, which act like photosynthesis in plants and act like tiny honeycomb cells. These algae provide up to 90% energy for corals while providing nutrients and pigmentation.

When the summer temperature is maintained a few degrees above the normal maximum, the coral is under pressure to expel the colored algae that produce energy. A colorful underwater tapestry made up of dendritic, bulbous, and feathery corals, a few days of effort has turned into a desolate landscape. If the water temperature drops within a week or two, the bleached coral can recover: the remaining algae can re-grow and the coral reefs return to health. But if you can't return to the cool climate in time, the bleached coral will die. The soft tissue of the coral will rot, and the white bones will be covered with thick brown algae and mucus-like dirt. Fish, turtles and other animals will disappear, leaving only this terrible graveyard to wither. The vibrant ecosystem has become a deadly wasteland.

The first recorded albinism occurred in Florida in 1911; this strange phenomenon was also discovered in Australia in 1929. In the next half century, this situation occurred several times, until the 1980s, began to appear regularly, worrying. By 1990, scientists warned that whitening is directly related to climate change, and that the scope will only expand, and the degree will only increase. It is possible that all coral reefs will be eliminated within a few decades. These warnings are ignored, and disasters happen again and again, as predicted.

Now, half of the world's coral reefs have disappeared.

Let us protect them