The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and several partners have released a new report titled "The State of the World's Coral Reefs: 2020." According to the scientific body, this is the latest ever analysis of the health of coral reefs around the world, revealing that while rising sea temperatures remain a problem, there is hope of salvation.
Climate change has led to rising ocean temperatures, triggering the loss of corals and threatening the wider marine ecosystem. According to the new report, about 14 percent of the world's corals have disappeared since 2009 as a result of human activities, including those fueling climate change.
The data behind this new analysis was collected over four decades from 73 countries and 12,000 different reef sites. The agency revealed that the results were the result of more than 300 scientists and about 2 million observations.
Declining water quality, along with increasingly unsustainable coastal development and overfishing, are cited as factors contributing to the poor health of coral reefs, and these losses can lead to "catastrophic" environmental impacts. The scientists explain that while only a tiny percentage of the ocean contain corals, these reefs are vital to about a quarter or more of all marine life.
However, the report isn't all bad news, and the scientists' analysis found that some corals are resilient to the impacts of human activity and climate change. Assuming "immediate measures" to protect these corals by addressing greenhouse gas emissions, many reefs will be able to recover.
Dr Paul Hadtisti, chief executive of the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences, said in a statement about the findings:
The study is by far the most detailed analysis of the state of the world's coral reefs, and the news is mixed. Clearly, there are disturbing trends in coral reef loss, and we can expect these trends to continue as warming continues. Still, some reefs have shown amazing resilience, which offers hope for future recovery of degraded reefs. One of the clear messages of the study is that climate change is the greatest threat to the world's coral reefs, and we must all do our part by urgently curbing global greenhouse gas emissions and reducing local pressures.
Mass bleaching is the greatest threat to the world's corals. The analysis shows that some places have been hit harder by the problem than others, notably Japan, the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. From 2009 to 2018, about 11,700 square kilometers of coral reefs turned white.