Coral reefs in decline: Could this new climate "tipping point" be a cause for concern?

    Global warming continues to alter the state of our planet. In one study, researchers observed an unprecedented decline in coral reefs. Why is this new climate tipping point so worrying?

    Los arrecifes de coral son el pretexto de los corales en el océano.
    The "unprecedented" decline of coral reefs is affecting the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people who depend on them and the survival of one million marine species.

    In a landmark study, "Global Tipping Points ," published Monday, October 13, a team of 160 international researchers noted that coral reefs have almost certainly crossed a new climate "tipping point," pushing the planet into the unknown and a potential series of future disasters. Why is this so worrying?

    Ecosystems "on the brink of collapse"

    In this annual study, these 160 scientists analyzed the state of planet Earth's health , examining potential "tipping points" that would bring its ecosystems to the brink of collapse . Crossing these points could trigger a domino effect of catastrophic , often irreversible, disasters.

    These tipping points are nine: the cessation of the Atlantic Meridional Circulation, the disintegration of the West Antarctic ice sheet, the decline of the Amazon rainforest, the shift of the West African monsoon, the thawing of permafrost, the death of coral reefs, the shift of the Indian monsoon, the disintegration of the Greenland ice sheet, and the change of the boreal forest.

    These researchers pointed to the "unprecedented decline" of coral reefs , "affecting the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people who depend on them," as well as the survival of one million marine species.

    These warm-water tropical coral reefs have therefore crossed a catastrophic point of no return, due to global warming of +1.4°C compared to the pre-industrial era. This unprecedented coral mortality , observed particularly in the past two years, is bringing the planet to the threshold of a new reality, they specify.

    Are corals doomed to disappear in a few years?

    The signal of coral decline is mass bleaching , which has increased in the last two years. Corals are true barriers to erosion , but also reservoirs of biodiversity and carbon storage areas , and they are bleaching due to rising ocean temperatures . This makes them even more vulnerable to global warming: a vicious cycle.

    When they die, corals leave behind skeletons devoid of living tissue: these will be gradually covered by algae, then colonized by other marine organisms, before eroding and breaking up.

    Within a few years, when the threshold of +1.5°C of warming is crossed (we are already at +1.4°C), without a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, most corals will be doomed, these researchers believe .

    In a month, the major climate conference (COP) will open in Belém, Brazil: it's time to respect the Paris Agreement's ambitious limit of +1.5°C of warming to avoid these dramatic consequences.

    Article references:

    France Info. Coral reefs have passed a climate "tipping point . "

    Global Tipping Points. 2025 Report.