- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
- Tragedy of Madrid street sweeper highlights how heatwaves kill
- Survivors wait for aid as Trump's lies help cloud Helene response
- Fleeing Israeli bombs, Lebanon's displaced met with suspicion
- Jila Mossaed, from refugee poet to Swedish Academy
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- Drugs, people smuggling at heart of Mexico's raging violence
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Musk says he is 'all in' on Trump in US election
- Category 5 Hurricane Milton roars towards storm-battered Florida
- Carpenter bomb stuns Guardians as Tigers level series
- Harris, Trump and Biden mark Oct. 7 attacks as US election looms
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- US judge orders Google to open Android to rival app stores
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights 'sacred' multi-front war
- Nobel scientist uncovered tiny genetic switches with big potential
- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ |
El Nino could imperil Australia's Great Barrier Reef
Australia's Great Barrier Reef could deteriorate if warming ocean temperatures spark another mass coral bleaching event later this year, the country's top marine science body said Wednesday.
Sections of the reef had been showing promising signs of recovery until a bleaching event in 2022 turned swathes of the vibrant coral a sickly, pale white.
The Australian Institute of Marine Science said that, although the reef's condition had stabilised during a "relatively mild" summer in 2023, it remained in a precarious position.
Institute research director David Wachenfeld said the reef was at "increased risk with climate change driving more frequent and severe bleaching events".
Australia's weather bureau has said it is "likely" an El Nino weather pattern will develop over the country in the coming weeks, bringing warmer ocean temperatures to the Pacific -- and the renewed risk of coral bleaching.
Globally, the average ocean temperature has been topping seasonal heat records on a regular basis since April.
Wachenfeld said the reef was "only one large-scale disturbance away from a rapid reversal of recent recovery".
Australia was given a brief reprieve earlier this year when a team of United Nations experts left the fading wonder off a list of heritage sites considered "in danger".
The reef is one of Australia's premier tourist drawcards and putting it on the in-danger list could substantially tarnish its allure for international visitors.
World heritage body UNESCO considered listing the reef after a damning report in 2021 but held off following intense lobbying from Australia's previous conservative government.
Instead, UNESCO has set up a monitoring mission within Australia to assess the impact of pollution, fishing, climate change and coral bleaching.
It first raised the alarm about the reef's deterioration in 2010.
Marine heatwaves have caused mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2022.
Researcher Mike Emslie said even the most minor bleaching event was enough to "put the brakes" on the reef's recovery.
"This means the reef is still at risk of decline from more frequent disturbances," he said.
O.M.Souza--AMWN