United Nations nature advisers warn that nearly all shallow-water coral reefs on Earth face ecosystem collapse by 2075 due to global heating. The assessment found that 96% of coral reefs across more than 80 countries will be at high risk of collapse when the expected impacts of warming are factored in, according to the UN evaluation. Currently, about 24% of the planet's reefs are already critically endangered without accounting for future warming effects.
The finding includes Australia's Great Barrier Reef among the threatened systems. UN advisers characterize the projection as a "wake-up call" for the scale of threat facing coral reef ecosystems globally.