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BREAKING
Da Silva: What is happening in Gaza is not a war, it is a genocide
Da Silva: Even the Jewish people do not want this war; it is revenge by a government against the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state
Brazilian President Lula da Silva: What we are seeing is not a war between two armies. [What we have is a] completely professional army that is killing women and children in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas: We affirm our readiness to immediately begin a round of indirect negotiations to reach an agreement on the points of contention
Hamas: We welcome the continued Qatari and Egyptian efforts to end the war waged by the Zionist occupation against our people
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli occupation forces blew up Noura Al-Kaabi Hospital, designated for kidney dialysis patients, in the northern Gaza Strip
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli drone targets a car on the Ayta al-Shaab-Debel road in southern Lebanon
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: The remaining airlines that have not yet complied with the ban are urged to take this into serious consideration to ensure the safety of their aircraft and passengers
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: The YAF, after successfully imposing a partial ban on air traffic at Lydd Airport, are now working to impose a full ban on air traffic at the aforementioned airport in the coming period
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: YAF's UAV Unit carried out three military operations targeting three vital Israeli sites in the occupied Palestinian areas of Yafa, Isdud, and Umm al-Rashrash, using three drones

Chilling 2% of Great Barrier Reef Has Escaped Coral Bleaching: Study

  • By Al Mayadeen
  • Source: Agencies
  • 5 Nov 2021 23:35
3 Min Read

The Great Barrier Reef of Australia has been subjected to one of the worst catastrophes due to climate change, which ravaged 98%.

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  • Coral bleaching at the Great Barrier Reef in 2016 (Credit: Getty Images)
    Coral bleaching at the Great Barrier Reef in 2016 (Credit: Getty Images)

The Great Barrier Reef is in a ruinous state due to warming sea levels caused by global warming, which in turn led to five mass coral bleaching events, three of which occurred in the last five years. Scientists say nearly the entire coral reef system has been bleached, and only 2% of it has been spared.

The first mass bleaching occurred in 1998, and over 20 years later, a study published on Friday found that only 1.7% of individual reefs had survived bleaching.

The first bleaching event took place during the 1998 ENSO, and four years later, the second one occurred. Following a 14-year hiatus, three events of the such came back to back, ravaging the ecosystem throughout 2016, 2017, and 2020.

Sattelite imagery shows that both the intensity of thermal stress and the areal coverage have increased from one event to the next. 

The scientists behind the study asserted that their results are only indicative "rather than precise estimates of larval supply loss." However, there being a diversity of local impacts is crucial for targeting reef management, the study said.

Reef experts hope areas that have suffered less under global warming will act as a 'refuge' for corals and enable them to survive, which will see them dispersing their larvae onto bleached reefs.

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According to the study, an obstacle to that natural process could be that areas that could have previously served as 'refuges' had already experienced bleaching at least once. However, continued analysis of future events would help resolve which candidate areas would warm less than expected, therefore aiding their sustainability.

The Current Biology research also underscored that bleaching events must be seen as a series of ailments rather than solo disasters in order to determine their process of recovery over time.

What is coral bleaching?

Coral bleaching is when the delicate corals are damaged due to warming water temperatures, which causes them to lose their unique colors, rendering them white. The white color is by the corals themselves expelling the algae living in their tissues.

Bleaching does not kill the corals; however, it does subject them to more stress, which could lead to their death. And although they could recover, extended periods of warming could jeopardize that and subject them to mortality as well.

What are coral reefs?

Coral reefs are biodiversity hubs that house fish, protect coastal communities, and generate billions of dollars for fisheries and tourism.

Action being taken

The Australian government had lobbied against a UN recommendation to include the Great Barrier Reef on its "in danger" sites list. Canberra said although climate change is the biggest threat to the reef, the appropriate means to tackle the bleaching was the COP.

Australia has since refused to set stronger climate goals for 2030 - a date by which the UN wants the entire world to halve its carbon emissions. Morrison's government has cited "promoting growth in new technologies" as the crutch that would help the Oceanian country, which is a major exporter of iron ore, coal, and petroleum, reach net zero emissions by 2050.

  • Great Barrier Reef
  • United Nations
  • COP26
  • coral reefs
  • Australia
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