Thursday August 8, 2024
Aljazeera —
Ocean temperatures in the Great Barrier Reef have hit their highest level in 400 years over the past decade, researchers say, warning that the largest living ecosystem on Earth likely will not survive if planetary warming is not stopped.
The study published on Thursday by a group of scientists from across Australia says temperatures around the spectacular 2,400km-long (1,500-mile) coral system were most stable for hundreds of years, but have warmed significantly in recent decades as a result of human influence.
Ocean temperatures around the reef increased yearly since 1960 but were particularly hotter during recent mass coral bleaching events, when large sections of the reef turned white due to heat stress, according to the study in the science journal Nature.