Great Barrier Reef coral reduced to half in 27 years

Australia's Great Barrier Reef has lost more than half its coral cover in the past 27 years due to storms, poisonous starfish and bleaching linked to climate change, a study found on Tuesday.

Great Barrier Reef [Photo: Xcitefun ]

The research by scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences (AIMS) and the University of Wollongong warned that coral cover on the heritage-listed reef - the world's largest - could halve again by 2022 if trends continued.

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Intense tropical cyclones were responsible for much of the damage, accounting for 48%, with outbreaks of the coral-feeding crown-of-thorns starfish linked to 42%.

Read more: Hindustan Times

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100 million to persih by 2030 due to climatic changes, fear experts

According to a stunning report issued by thee humanitarian organization, DARA, climate change will kill an estimated 100 million people by 2030 and cost the global economy 3.2 percent of its potential output annually.

DARA is based in Spain and the report, published in New York on Wednesday, was commissioned by 20 governments.

Global average temperatures have been rising due to the "greenhouse" effect, where ozone harming gas emissions are being trapped within the Earth's atmosphere. The effects on the planet, such as melting ice caps, extreme weather, drought and rising sea levels, will threaten populations and livelihoods, said the report.

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Currently, DARA estimates that about there are five million deaths a year. Roughly 4.5 million are "carbon economy deaths due mainly to air pollution.

Read more: De Paulia

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