Australia’s Great Barrier Reef 2 sees a sharp decline in coral cover in 2 regions
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has faced the biggest decline in coral covers in two of their three areas last year, with research released on Wednesday revealed that its coral was the worst on record after large bleaching.
The Australian Institute of Marine Sciences said that Reef experienced the biggest annual decline in coral cover in its northern and southern regions as the monitoring began 39 years ago, with a coral cover falling after a concrete development of several years between a quarter and one third.
Mike Amsley, head of the institute’s long -term monitoring program, said, “Now we are seeing increased instability in the level of hard coral cover.”
“This is an event that emerges in the last 15 years and indicates an ecosystem under stress.”
According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, oceans around the world are experiencing a large -scale coral bleaching event. This means that coral is getting white in every major ocean basin, or even dying, because the water that lives in it is very hot.
The Reef, the world’s largest living ecosystem, is about 2,400 km from the coast of the northern state of Queensland.
Since 2016, Reef has experienced five summer of coral bleaching on a large scale, when large parts of the reef become white due to heat stress, which puts them at greater risk of death.
The report stated that the 2024 event recorded the largest footprint recorded on Reef, with high bleaching with high levels.
The Great Barrier Reef is currently not in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites that are in danger, although the United Nations recommends that it must be added.
Australia has been lobbying for years to keep the endangered list away, as it can harm tourism.
