"Risk of Extinction Within 50 Years Worldwide"... Shocking Study Results Released

Research has shown that coral reef ecosystems, which boast the highest biodiversity in the world, are at risk of collapsing within 50 years due to rising ocean temperatures and heatwaves driven by climate change.

At the UN Biodiversity Conference held in Albania on the 22nd (local time), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced that 96 percent of shallow-water coral reef ecosystems are already facing a severe risk of extinction and could disappear by 2075.

The IUCN conducted its first-ever Red List assessment of coral reef ecosystems, covering 127 tropical and subtropical ecoregions worldwide and 188,362 square kilometers of coral reef areas, to arrive at these findings.

The study found that world-renowned locations such as Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the Coral Triangle in the western Pacific and Southeast Asia, and the Red Sea coral reefs are all facing severe threats of disappearance.

Climate change was identified as the most persistent threat causing the collapse of coral reef ecosystems.

In another research report published a week prior in the journal Nature, the IUCN also revealed that 44 percent of reef-building coral species are facing extinction due to climate change.

Often referred to as the "tropical rainforests of the sea," coral reefs are habitats for a quarter of all marine life and serve as a buffer zone protecting coastlines from erosion and storms.

Grethel Aguilar, Director General of the IUCN, emphasized, "We must ambitiously reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strive to protect and restore coral reef ecosystems," adding, "We must also continue to invest in resilient coastal ecosystems and the local communities that depend on them."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.