![]() Coral bleaching hits Indian Ocean reefs 17 photosĬoral bleaching occurs when unusual environmental conditions, like increased sea temperatures, result in corals expelling the small algae which normally provide oxygen and nutrients. The reef’s coral cover suffered significant bleaching this year due to the El Nino weather effect and continued climate change. Warming oceans in 2016 caused the largest die-off of corals ever recorded on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, scientists said in November. That’s the lowest November extent since the NOAA began keeping records in 1979.Ī troubling new chapter for the Great Barrier Reef Last month, the average Arctic sea ice extent - the measurement scientists use to represent the area of ocean where there is at least some sea ice - was 17.7 percent below the averages from 1981 to 2010, according to NOAA. NASA animation of Arctic sea ice cover, 1979-2015. ![]() Global warming has had a particularly dramatic impact on the Arctic, which has been transformed by significantly warmer temperatures, lower levels of sea ice, and more open water in recent years. Still need perspective? Research released this year shows that, if we take a much longer view of Earth’s temperature history and consider temperature averages in 5,000 year increments, the Earth is now warmer than it has been in 120,000 years. The only outlier was 1998, according to the WMO. If 2016 ends up with the title of hottest year on record, as expected, that would mean that 16 of the 17 hottest years on record have occurred in this century. Though final data from December is not yet in, January to November 2016 was the warmest such period worldwide on record, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. People collect water at a slum area in Mumbai, India, April 30, 2016, during a week-long heat wave that decimated crops, killed livestock and left at least 330 million Indians without enough water for their daily needs. Temperatures were particularly high in the first half of the year due to the power of El Niño. This year is poised to be the hottest year in the 137-year official record, with global temperatures climbing even higher than record-breaking 2015, according to data released in November from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The 400 ppm mark has sad significance in the climate community, as it has long been considered a point of no return for the atmosphere by scientists. That’s because, during September, a month in which atmospheric carbon dioxide - a heat-trapping greenhouse gas -is usually at its lowest, the monthly value failed to drop below 400 parts per million.
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