UN Biodiversity Expert Warns Super El Niño Threatens Coral Reefs With Extinction
· World · Times of India, The Hindu
A developing super El Niño could push fragile global coral reefs closer to extinction as ocean temperatures rise to unprecedented levels, UN biodiversity expert David Obura warned on Thursday. Obura, who chairs the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, stated that the climate phenomenon introduces severe additional risks to already vulnerable marine species. The warning coincides with a major study published in Nature revealing that nearly half of reef-building coral species faced an elevated risk of extinction by 2020 due to climate change. Scientists warn that the current El Niño could surpass the devastating impacts of the 1997-98 event following three intervening global bleaching episodes. Sea surface temperatures in parts of the Pacific have already reached all-time highs ahead of the anticipated peak.
Why it matters
Widespread coral reef collapse threatens marine biodiversity, coastal protection, and the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on reef ecosystems worldwide.
Read the original report — Times of India
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