Rising ocean temperatures are driving mass bleaching events across coral reefs worldwide, putting numerous species at risk of extinction.
Mass Coral Bleaching
Nearly 50% of coral species living in warm waters are at risk of extinction, with climate change being the primary culprit. This information is part of an updated assessment report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), published on November 13 at the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Bleached coral in the waters off Kohamajima Island, Okinawa, Japan – (Photo: Kyodo/TTXVN).
The updated assessment of the IUCN Red List – a global inventory of threatened species – examines reef-building coral species that inhabit warm, shallow waters in tropical regions.
Analysis results indicate that 892 species of reef-building corals are now considered threatened, accounting for 44% of all coral species, a significant increase from over 30% in the last assessment conducted in 2008.
Accordingly, the IUCN urges negotiators at COP29 to take immediate action to reduce emissions from fossil fuels and prevent global warming.
Oceans absorb about 90% of the excess heat trapped in the atmosphere due to CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases.
Increasing ocean temperatures are triggering mass bleaching events across coral reefs worldwide, threatening vital ecosystems for marine life as well as the livelihoods of people who depend on them.
Risk of Extinction
Bleached coral in the waters off Jeju Island, South Korea – (Photo: Yonhap/TTXVN).
IUCN Director Grethel Aguilar emphasized that healthy ecosystems like coral reefs are essential for human livelihoods, providing food, coastal protection, and carbon storage. Climate change remains the leading threat to reef-building corals and is devastating natural systems that humans rely on.
In addition to global warming, pollution, disease, overfishing, and agricultural runoff also threaten the survival of corals worldwide.
The majority of reef-building corals are found throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans, such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, which has experienced one of the most severe bleaching events on record this year.
The IUCN’s updated assessment includes findings from a study on reef-building corals in the Atlantic, published in the journal PLOS One on November 13. The study found that nearly 30%, specifically 23 out of 85 Atlantic coral species, are now critically endangered, exceeding previous estimates.
For cold-water corals, the IUCN is still evaluating the extinction risk due to their habitat in deeper, darker waters, making research challenging.
