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A rise in sea temperatures killed off 90 per cent of the coral reefs near the surface of the Indian,devasting mostly the shallow corals lying from 10 to 40 metres (33ft to 130ft) below the surface Ocean in only one year, while the remaining 10 per cent could die in the next 50 years, devastating fish stocks and tourism vital to coastal economies. The loss of these "rainforests of the ocean" would also lead to increased coastal erosion as the natural breakwaters formed by the live corals were worn down. Coral reefs support aquatic organisms in complex, linked food chains. But with global warming causing a rise in sea temperatures - to which the organisms that build reefs are sensitive - environmentalists fear they will be destroyed. A proportion of corals dies with each annual peak in the sea temperature, which varies seasonally by between 3C in the southern Indian Ocean and 15C in the Gulf region in the north. As sea temperatures rise globally, more corals will be killed by the annual peak. With global temperatures expected to rise another 2C to 2.5C this century, many scientists believe global warming is a greater threat than development, pollution or any other risk factor the reefs face.
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