Caribbean coral coverage halved over the past 40 years
Environment — di Andrea Barolini
Marine heatwaves, increasingly powerful hurricanes and insufficient protection efforts are decimating corals in the Caribbean Sea.
Caribbean coral coverage halved over the past 40 years
Marine heatwaves, increasingly powerful hurricanes and insufficient protection efforts are decimating corals in the Caribbean Sea.
Climate change is decimating corals in the Caribbean Sea. This is the finding of a French study, conducted by researchers from the National Centre for Scientific Research, which analysed local ecosystems in the area around Martinique, an island in the Antilles and a French overseas department.
Corals: 78 per cent of living colonies around Martinique lost between 2023 and 2025
The mission lasted two weeks. The researchers' ultimate goal is to sequence the genome of 4,500 plant and animal species present in the area — a project that will run until 2030. In the first phase of the work, 160 samples of sponges were collected, along with twenty samples of cnidarians, including jellyfish, sea anemones and, of course, corals.
"L'effondrement des récifs coralliens en mer des Caraïbes, victimes du changement climatique.
Une étude a mis en évidence la disparition de 48 % des coraux dans les Caraïbes (1980)2024). En Martinique, les 3/4 de ces colonies d'animaux marins ont été anéanties en deux ans, après
Une étude a mis en évidence la disparition de 48 % des coraux dans les Caraïbes (1980)2024). En Martinique, les 3/4 de ces colonies d'animaux marins ont été anéanties en deux ans, après
The area chosen by the researchers is particularly well-suited to this type of study. According to what Thierry Pérez, a marine ecology specialist at the University of Aix-Marseille, told the newspaper Le Monde, "on the island of Martinique, you only need to dive to find new species".
The results are particularly alarming: for two consecutive years, the coral reef around Martinique suffered an intense bleaching event severe enough to decimate coral colonies. "Between 2023 and 2025, we lost 78 per cent of living colonies", explained Jessica Crillon, from the Martinique Marine Natural Park.
Marine heatwaves increasingly frequent and prolonged in the region
During that period, water temperatures were very high, reaching 31 degrees Celsius — and unsurprisingly so. This is a dynamic seen not only in the Caribbean Sea but also in numerous other basins, such as the Mediterranean, driven by human-induced climate change through the burning of coal, oil and gas.
In step with global warming, corals are suffering across the world: coverage across the entire Caribbean area fell by 48 per cent between 1980 and 2024, according to a study by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network published last December. A massive loss, when one considers that the region's coral reef today extends over more than 24,000 square kilometres, touching the waters of 44 nations and territories, representing 9.7 per cent of the total global coral surface area.
The proliferation of hurricanes is also hitting coral reefs
In the area under study, sea surface temperature has risen by an average of 1.07 degrees over the past 40 years. But what weighs most heavily are the recurring and prolonged marine heatwaves, as well as the increasing frequency of high-intensity hurricanes.
Chaque fraction de degré compte.
La hausse des températures expose la vie marine et les écosystèmes côtiers à un risque de perte irréversible.
Une action climatique urgente est nécessaire pour #SauverNosOcéans.
un.org/fr/climatechan…
La hausse des températures expose la vie marine et les écosystèmes côtiers à un risque de perte irréversible.
Une action climatique urgente est nécessaire pour #SauverNosOcéans.
un.org/fr/climatechan…
It is precisely for this reason that the report's authors indicate that slowing the decline of corals in the Caribbean would require "coordinated action" across multiple sectors, beginning with the "reduction of local and global threats", followed by better management of protected areas, the introduction of monitoring programmes and the allocation of resources for projects aimed at restoring damaged ecosystems.