🪸 According to recent aerial observations, The Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Australia is experiencing its sixth bleaching episode in just 25 years.
📑 In 2020, a study by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies in Australia showed that the Great Barrier Reef had lost half of its coral in almost thirty years.
🥵 The reason for this has long been known: climate change is causing an increase in ocean temperature.
🔎 As explained in a March 25, 2022 update on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (gbrmarinepark) platform, scientists made new observations along the 2,300 kilometers of the Great Barrier Reef.
They then claimed that 60% of the reef's surface was undergoing severe bleaching.
🌦 According to the study`s leaders, this bleaching was the first to occur in a year known as "La Niña", a term associated with a climatic phenomenon, including abnormally low water temperatures. In other words, previous events associated with unusually warm temperatures have made coral reefs more vulnerable to new environmental stressors.
🐠 Keep in mind that as many as a quarter of all marine life forms owe their existence, wholly or in part, to coral reefs.
🎣 The survival of many humans is also at risk, as coral reefs represent an ecosystem that feeds fishing reservoirs.
🪸 In addition, coral reefs protect coastlines, especially from storms.