Climate change could cause coral bleaching in Great Barrier Reef

World Today

One of the many impacts of climate change is how rising global temperatures will affect coral reefs.

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has existed over hundreds of thousands of years in one form or another, and it’s lived and died several times over that period. The current reef is about 10,000 years old, and scientist warn that a warming planet is seriously endangering the life span of this reef.

CCTV’s Greg Navarro reports from the Great Barrier Reef.

Warming waters can lead to coral bleaching – which robs coral of the ability to withstand the forces of natural erosion, and storms. The increased sea temperature can also impact water quality.

As the earth’s atmosphere gets warmer and more moist than it was just 50 years ago, extreme weather events could get even more extreme.

Scientists say droughts in Australia are lasting longer, hurricanes such as Patricia which hit Mexico last month are stronger, and flooding in parts of the world is becoming more frequent.

The Australian government has identified climate change as the number one threat to the great barrier reef. The reef system is considered the best managed in the world, but many scientists said more needs to be done to address the impacts from climate change.