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PARIS: Oceans are in a “deepening crisis” 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 change, pollution and overfishing in our oceans, which cover more than 70 percent of the planet.
“The 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,” the United Nations’ third World Ocean Assessment (WOA) said.
Oceans play a critical role for the planet, regulating the climate and feeding billions of people. But the WOA warned of “a deepening crisis, as climate change, pollution, overfishing and biodiversity loss put ocean systems under severe strain”.
