{"id":40011,"date":"2025-03-28T19:22:50","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T13:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=40011"},"modified":"2025-03-28T19:22:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T13:52:51","slug":"coral-bleaching-devastates-western-australia-ningaloo-reef","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/28-03-2025\/coral-bleaching-devastates-western-australia-ningaloo-reef","title":{"rendered":"Coral Bleaching Devastates Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Syllabus: GS3\/ Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • A severe mass coral bleaching event<\/strong> described as unprecedented is unfolding off Australia’s western coast, impacting the Ningaloo Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage site.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • The event is part of a broader fourth global coral bleaching episode, ongoing since 2023.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • The NOAA reported that nearly 84% of the world\u2019s reef areas <\/strong>have experienced bleaching-level heat stress, impacting over 80 countries and territories.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • The crisis is worsened by rising global sea surface temperatures, overfishing, and pollution<\/strong>\u2014challenges that have intensified due to climate change.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Coral Reefs: Key Facts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      • What are Coral Reefs?<\/strong>\n
          \n
        • Underwater ecosystems formed by reef-building corals<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Composed of colonies of coral polyps<\/strong> bound by calcium carbonate.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Coral polyps live in endosymbiosis<\/strong> with algae (zooxanthellae).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Favorable Conditions:<\/strong>\n
            \n
          • Temperature:<\/strong> 20\u00b0C\u201335\u00b0C<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Salinity:<\/strong> 27%\u201340%<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Depth:<\/strong> Prefer shallow waters (<50 m) for sunlight access<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Major Coral Reefs:<\/strong>\n
              \n
            • Global:<\/strong> Great Barrier Reef, Australia (UNESCO World Heritage Site)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • India:<\/strong> Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Mannar, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, and Malvan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              Benefits of Coral Reefs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                \n
              • Marine biodiversity hotspot<\/strong> & support oceanic food chains<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Coastal protection<\/strong> against storms and erosion<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Carbon sequestration<\/strong> aiding climate mitigation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Livelihoods<\/strong> and boost to the Blue Economy<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Source of novel medicines<\/strong> (antivirals, anticancer agents).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                Threats to Coral Reefs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                  \n
                • Climatic impacts:<\/strong> Bleaching, acidification, algal blooms<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Human Activities:<\/strong> Overfishing, pollution, coral mining<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Habitat Destruction:<\/strong> Coastal development and sedimentation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                  Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                    \n
                  • Climate Action:<\/strong> Keep global warming well below 2\u00b0C (Paris Agreement)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Policy & Governance:<\/strong> Enforce SDGs (especially SDG 8 & 12)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Global Collaboration:<\/strong> Tackle overfishing and marine pollution collectively<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Innovation:<\/strong> Promote R&D in climate-resilient coral species<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                    Source: TH<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                    A severe mass coral bleaching event described as unprecedented is unfolding off Australia’s western coast, impacting the Ningaloo Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage site.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40011"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40012,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40011\/revisions\/40012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}