New study shows half of Earth's coral reefs could face 'permanent unsustainable conditions' by 2035

A new study published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Biology shows the existential threat climate change poses to the planet’s coral reefs and marine life. Researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa found that, under a worst-case scenario in which “climate change continues unabated,” half of the planet’s coral reefs face existential threats from disturbances like ocean acidification, climate change-worsened hurricanes, and even land-based pollution—disturbances that are already devastating coral reefs and other marine life.

“We know that corals are vulnerable to increasing sea surface temperatures and marine heat waves due to climate change,” study co-author Erik Franklin said in a press release. “But it is important to include the complete anthropogenic (environmental change caused or influenced by human activity) impact from numerous stressors that coral reefs are exposed to in order to get a better sense of the overall risks to these ecosystems.” Franklin is an associate research professor at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology.