The Great Barrier Reef in Australia last year recorded the largest annual loss of living coral since measurements began 39 years ago. According to official data, coral cover shrank by almost a third in the southern region in one year, by a quarter in the north and by 14% in the central area. The main cause of this phenomenon is related to climate change and record temperatures recorded over the past two years. Experts explain that corals have difficulty surviving in hot waters for long periods of time. When high temperatures last for several weeks, the process of “bleaching” of corals occurs – a condition in which they lose the algae that live in their tissues and give them color, making them more vulnerable to survival.
Coral reefs are considered a unique ecosystem and at the same time threatened by global warming, being particularly sensitive to rising ocean temperatures. Meanwhile, according to the latest data from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Service, July this year did not break the temperature record of the previous two years, but remains the third hottest ever recorded, with a global average of 16.68°C. This fact shows that, despite the slight relief in temperatures compared to previous years, the risk to marine ecosystems and the Great Barrier Reef remains high.
