If you were planning to visit Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, you better do it soon.
A recent study found that more than half of the coral in the reef has been destroyed over the past 27 years.
Tropical storms – connected to the warming of the Earth’s waters – account for a large part of the die-off.
An increase in the coral’s natural enemy, the crown of thorns starfish, has also contributed to its destruction. The starfish typically invade the reef every 50-80 years, but populations have exploded due to an increase in agricultural runoff.
If nothing is done to reverse the destruction, the study claims that coral levels could diminish to as low as 25% by 2022.
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