Some of Thailand’s most popular diving sites are now off-limits to tourists: Thai officials announced on Thursday that they were restricting access to seven marine national parks for up to a year to prevent further harm to coral reefs severely damaged by a long period of elevated sea temperatures last year.
Reefs are plentiful in Thailand and serve as a major tourist draw, and the announcement met with opposition from some hotel and tourism operators.
More than 80 percent of the corals at 18 dive sites have undergone bleaching, a symptom of severe stress caused by excessively warm water temperatures. Sea surface temperatures in some areas that were damaged were more than seven degrees Fahrenheit above the long-term average last April and May. It is possible for corals to recover from bleaching-- but if the stress is too acute, they die.
No comments:
Post a Comment