Scientists say that the world -famous coral reefs along the West Australia coast (WA) suffered from the worst bleaching in the registration of “the longest, largest and most dense” in the state.
Between last August and those with creation, warm water temperatures led to thermal pressure on coral reefs, causing the expulsion of many coral algae that give them life and color – a process called bleaching, which is often fatal.
The damage – which will take months to evaluate – extends 1500 km (932 miles) and includes ease of climate change.
Coral reefs worldwide suffer from a global bleaching event for two years, due to high ocean temperatures.
The Australia Maritime Agency said that eight weeks of heat stress are usually sufficient to kill corals, and early estimates showed that many coral reefs suffered between 15 and 30.
“The length and intensity of thermal stress, and its shock across multiple regions, is something that we have not seen before in most coral reefs in western Australia,” said James Gilmour, of the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences (AIMS.
In a new report, the AIMS researchers found that the 2024-25 season was “the most coral whitening ever” of coral reefs in both the northwestern and central reefs.
He said, “The areas that gave us hope because they were rarely whitening before – such as Roli Schuls, North Kimberly and Nagalu – have been severely exposed this time. Finally, the climate was heated with these coral reefs,” he said.
NingAloo Reef is a location listed in the World Heritage List, just like Great Barrier Reef on the eastern Australian coast, which has suffered from coral reef whitening in recent years.
Last week, a new report revealed Great Barrier Reef – the largest coral system in the world that extends to more than 2,300 km (1429 miles) – witnessed the largest decline in coral in nearly four decades.
The Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt told the Australian broadcasting company that the coral damage in Ninjo “stresses the need for Australia and the world to take urgent measures, including access to net zero emissions.”
Climate change means that bleaching events have become more frequent, more intense and more widespread, says Dr. Gilmour, who says coral reefs – which needs 10 to 15 years to recover – says a little bit for apostasy.
He said, “The changing climate caused by carbon emissions is still the biggest threat to our coral reefs, and all coral reefs in the world,” he said.
The United Nations has previously warned that even if the world rises in the global temperature to 1.5 ° C above the pre -industrial levels, between 70 and 90 % of tropical coral reefs in the world will die.