The Great Barrier Reef is one paradise on Earth, and Mother Nature did not make it overnight. Home to thousands of sea species, it is considered the largest living structure on Earth, even visible from outer space.
However, this ‘natural wonder of the world’ is in terminal condition. According to scientists, the back to back mass bleaching is threatening the life of the coral reefs and those living on it.
The Great Barrier Reef is considered one of the natural wonders of the world.
Mass bleaching is a phenomenon linked to global warming. When the temperature of the water increases, corals begin ejecting symbiotic algae in their tissue for their survival. The incident doesn’t necessarily mean the corals have died, but unfortunately, it would take decades before corals can recover.
Furthermore, mass bleaching events twelve months apart mean zero prospect of recovery for reefs that were damaged last year. The Great Barrier Reef has bleached severely in 1998, 2002, 2016 and now in 2017.
Recent photos show the effects of mass bleaching in corals.
Newest aerial inspections of over 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) of the Great Barrier Reef show 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) is now bleached. To make matters worse, the recent Tropical Cyclone Debbie struck a section of the reef that escaped the bleaching.
Tropical Cyclone Debbie added devastation to the already suffering reef.
Scientists note how desperate the situation is. During an interview with The Guardian, Jon Brodie, a James Cook University water quality expert, “We’ve given up. It’s been my life managing water quality, we’ve failed.”
He was referring to the inaction on the part of the Australian government.
Ocean temperatures are not expected to lower down anytime soon. Global warming continuously threatens the reef which will cause even more damage.
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The hard fact is our generation could be last to see or even know the grand beauty of this reef. Only a few more years, and the reef would be extinct along with the other sea creatures which made it their home.
