The dire findings in this latest report on the unprecedented damage to coral reefs worldwide must shock the global conscience into urgent climate action. Marine ecosystems hang in the balance as oceans undergo sweeping changes at a breakneck pace. Coral reefs are dying! We have already breached the safe limit of 1.5°C warming. Marine heatwaves of catastrophic ferocity are now the norm, not the exception. Once vibrant reefs from the Pacific to the Caribbean are ghostly white with bleached corals.
The projections for the coming years are even more alarming. Today’s El Nino conditions could trigger the most extensive coral die-off recorded within the next two years if emissions remain unabated. Entire reef structures risk collapse, taking a quarter of ocean biodiversity with them.
We need global solidarity and political courage on a scale never seen before. The world’s coral reefs are running out of tomorrow. Their unmatched beauty, bounty and biodiversity will be but a memory unless we summon the multilateral resolve to safeguard our irreplaceable biosphere.
Bapon (SHM) Fakhruddin, PhD
Water and Climate Leader| Strategic Investment Partnerships and Co-Investments| Professor| EW4ALL| Board Member| Chair- CODATA TG| Award Winner (SDG 2021, EWS 2025)
Unprecedented Coral Reef Loss Under Escalating Marine Heatwaves
Bapon (SHM) Fakhruddin, PhD 