Red Sea 'Super Corals' Face First Major Bleaching as Scientists Debate Cause
During the summers of 2023 and 2024, coral ecosystems in Egypt's Red Sea faced significant stress due to heat waves. A study conducted by the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA), under the guidance of Professor Mahmoud Hanafy, revealed that in 2024, less than 10% of northern corals were bleached, while around 50% in southern regions were affected. Coral bleaching happens when elevated water temperatures force corals to expel their algae, which serve as their food. Eslam Osman links heat resilience to evolutionary factors, while Hanafy points to alterations in water circulation. The 2024 heat wave's calm conditions hindered circulation, and low July tides may have exacerbated stress. HEPCA projects recovery rates between 75-88%. The Egyptian government is collaborating with the UN on conservation initiatives, with Hanafy emphasizing the necessity of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Key facts
- Heat waves in summer 2023 and summer 2024 strained Red Sea coral ecosystems in Egypt
- A HEPCA survey led by Mahmoud Hanafy found bleaching throughout Red Sea corals in 2024
- Less than a tenth of surveyed coral colonies were affected in northern areas, while half were affected further south
- Bleaching occurs when warm water makes algae produce toxins, causing corals to eject their primary food source and starve
- Reefs cover less than 1 percent of the seafloor but support at least 25 percent of marine species, per the United Nations Environment Program
- Eslam Osman of KAUST links heat tolerance to corals entering via the Bab al-Mandab Strait between Djibouti and Yemen
- Hanafy attributes resilience to vertical mixing from changing currents that bring cooler deep water to the surface
- The sea stayed unusually calm for about a month and a half during the 2024 heat wave, and exceptionally low tides in July 2024 added stress
- HEPCA's preliminary estimates a year later put recovery at 75 to 88 percent depending on species and location
- Egypt designated new protected areas and partnered with the United Nations Development Program and the Global Fund for Coral Reefs
Entities
Artists
- Mahmoud Hanafy
- Eslam Osman
Institutions
- Suez Canal University
- Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association
- HEPCA
- United Nations Environment Program
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
- KAUST
- United Nations Development Program
- Global Fund for Coral Reefs
- WIRED Middle East
- Egyptian government
Locations
- Egypt
- Red Sea
- Bab al-Mandab Strait
- Djibouti
- Yemen
- Hurghada