Coral bleaching threat

One of the most significant features of global warming is that its changes will no longer take decades to appear, they are instant. The advent of the climate catastrophe has indicated that man is no longer just a biological force but also a geological one. Thus the consequences of human activity on earth will be immediate and extreme. Over the past many years, Pakistan has witnessed rather perturbing changes with regard to global warming in the form of extreme climate change, natural disasters and environmental degradation. Scientists are not wrong when they say we are in the midst of an extinction events, since 200 million people in Pakistan alone are suffering from deteriorating conditions.

To make matters worse, the WWF-Pakistan has reported coral bleaching in some areas of Churna Island, calling it a grave threat to the coastal biodiversity of Pakistan. Being a colonial marine animal that live in clear shallow waters, corals are a vital part of the marine ecosystem, precisely because, apart from providing a habitat for diversified marine creatures, coral reefs are considered as rainforests of the sea. When subjected to warm water, corals will expel the algae living in their tissues causing them to turn completely white, hence the term bleaching. Even though they are still alive, they will remain under great stress due to the change in atmosphere, with a greater change of mortality.

While this may be a first for Pakistan, the phenomenon has been occurring in different parts of the world since 2014. But in Pakistan the process has significantly accelerated due to industrial activities, as there is a thermal power plant, an oil refinery and a single point mooring in the area. The only way to save further destruction is by reducing industrial activity around the area and taking measures to control the temperature of the sea-water. Even though the immediate solution may seem simple, global effort needs to be made in order to prevent such phenomenon from occurring in the future.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 29^th, 2020.

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