PARIS(National Times)- Oceans are in a \u201cdeepening crisis\u201d that demands urgent global action, a major UN report warned on Monday, with seas warming and rising faster, ice cover shrinking and marine ecosystems under mounting strain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The culmination of five years of work by 600 international scientists, the 1,352-page tome details the growing toll of climate change, pollution and overfishing in our oceans, which cover more than 70 percent of the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe ocean is the foundation of life on Earth. But its health is at grave risk as ecosystems and habitats approach or surpass critical tipping points,\u201d the United Nations\u2019 third World Ocean Assessment (WOA) said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oceans play a critical role for the planet, regulating the climate and feeding billions of people. But the WOA warned of \u201ca deepening crisis, as climate change, pollution, overfishing and biodiversity loss put ocean systems under severe strain\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The findings \u201cdemand urgent action, through stronger multilateral cooperation, greater ambition and decisions grounded in the best available science\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The WOA welcomed the entry into force in January of a UN treaty to protect and sustainably use marine life in international waters, saying it \u201cmarks a historic milestone for ocean stewardship and multilateral cooperation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe cannot keep treating the ocean as limitless,\u201d UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. \u201cWe must build a new relationship with the ocean: Grounded in science. Framed by international law. And built on shared responsibility,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Warming and rising faster<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The report, which mostly covers the period between 2018-2023, paints a stark picture of the state of the oceans. Around 16 per cent of the total increase in ocean heat content recorded since 1955 has occurred since 2018 alone, the assessment found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The oceans have absorbed more than 90 per cent of the excess heat and 30 percent of the CO2 released into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As waters warm, they expand, helping drive sea-level rise alongside meltwater from glaciers and ice sheets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe sea level continues to rise at increasing rates,\u201d the report said, more than doubling from less than 2.0 millimetres per year before 2015 to 4.3 mm in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While millimetres might seem small, they \u201cmultiply up really quickly\u201d, Ian Butler, an Australia-based marine ecologist and joint coordinator of the WOA\u2019s group of experts, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Arctic Ocean could become ice-free in September by the middle of the century, with the earliest such conditions possible in the 2030s under all emissions scenarios, the report said. \u201cWe\u2019re seriously looking at an ice-free Arctic Ocean for parts of the year within 10 or 20 years,\u201d Butler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ice melt in the northern pole is also reshaping geopolitics, opening previously inaccessible shipping routes and heightening competition among major powers including the United States, Russia and China. In the South Pole, Antarctic sea ice, which had gradually increased between 1979 and 2015, has \u201crapidly declined\u201d since 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marine ecosystems<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Climate change is also reshaping marine life, with some fish species moving to cooler or deeper waters to survive. \u201cSome have no future at all because there\u2019s nowhere for them to go,\u201d Butler said. Coral reefs are among the most threatened ecosystems. Repeated marine heatwaves and storms \u201cleave little time for recovery and are pushing reefs towards collapse\u201d, the report said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PARIS(National Times)- Oceans are in a \u201cdeepening crisis\u201d that demands urgent global action, a major UN report warned on Monday, with seas warming and rising faster, ice cover shrinking and marine ecosystems under mounting strain. The culmination of five years of work by 600 international scientists, the 1,352-page tome details the growing toll of climate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n