Features

The ‘underwater bushfire’ cooking Australia’s reefs

Published

5 months ago

2025/07/23

Priyan

Ningaloo is the world's largest fringing reef, home to an oceanic forest that spreads hundreds of kilometres along the coast [BBC]

Australia boasts plenty of superlatives when it comes to its natural landmarks. The Great Barrier Reef, the world’s biggest coral reef system on the north-east coast, is rightly recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site. Buzzing with biodiversity, it’s a diver’s dream.

But there’s a lesser-known record breaker on the other side of the country, on Australia’s north-western coast: Ningaloo Reef.

A 14-hour drive north of Perth, Ningaloo is unique. The world’s largest fringing reef and another of Australia’s Unesco World Heritage Sites, it is home to a lush oceanic forest that spreads out along the coast for hundreds of kilometres.

From the region’s remote desert beaches, you can wade into vibrant turquoise waters and almost immediately start snorkelling in a seascape as famous for its vibrant corals as the wildlife that surrounds them – manta rays, reef sharks and whale sharks.

But this year, Ningaloo has found itself in trouble. Hit by a marine heatwave, higher water temperatures have stressed the corals and they’ve been turning white, in an effect known as ‘bleaching’. While some may recover, it’s not a given – and the damage has astounded scientists.

Not only that, but the heatwave is responsible for another, more worrying superlative. This is the first time that the reefs on both Australia’s western and eastern coasts have been bleached.

“It’s like a raging underwater bushfire that has persisted for months now, wreaking harm right along the coast,” says Paul Gamblin, who heads up the Australian Marine Conservation Society. “It’s an absolutely devastating event and people are reeling from it. It is enormous. It’s unprecedented. It’s absolutely not normal.”

The marine heatwave that’s damaging Ningaloo started in the Caribbean in 2023 . It then made its way across the Indo-Pacific, damaging coral reefs in its path. In 2024, while the Great Barrier Reef saw bleaching, Ningaloo was spared. But by the end of last year and the beginning of 2025 – peak summer – temperatures had begun to soar in Western Australia.

It’s all part of the fourth global bleaching event, which experts say has affected more than 80% of the world’s coral reefs.

Dr Kate Quigley, principal research scientist at Minderoo Foundation, likens the effect to a stomach bug.

“Instead of having bacteria in the human gut, corals have this little algal symbiont that lives inside their cells that allow them to do biological processes,” she explains, adding that this algae is what gives the corals their colour. When water becomes too warm, that relationship breaks down and bleaching begins.

“So, kind of like, if we got a stomach bug and the human body doesn’t function the same way, [it’s the] same thing with the coral,” she explains. “The warm water causes the biological processes inside that coral to go haywire. And just like humans get sick, corals get sick too.”

Of particular worry to Dr Quigley is the prolonged warming scientists have seen. They expected temperatures to drop by April as peak summer passed. This year, that didn’t happen.

“In previous warming events, water temperatures might have increased for a bit of time and then gone back down again so the corals can essentially recover – they can bounce back,” explains Dr Quigley. “But what we’re really afraid of seeing, especially in the coming months, is really high levels of death.”

While government scientists have been monitoring the reef, there’s still a lot they don’t know.

“The natural world is an incredibly variable place, and sometimes we’re… shocked by what we see, [because] it doesn’t seem to follow the rules,” says Dr Tom Holmes, the Marine Science Programme Leader at the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions in Western Australia.

Dr Holmes and his team are doing follow-up surveys between three and six months after the bleaching to assess how many corals have died.

“There are certainly records of corals [being] in a bleached state for that period of time and still surviving,” he says. “So we just need to play the waiting game now.”

Ningaloo attracts around 200,000 tourists to its waters each year. For swimmers and divers, though, the damage is clear.

“It was like snorkelling on a corpse,” says British-South African tourist Jenna-Rae Clark, who has been up and down the coastline of Ningaloo in recent weeks. “It was so grey and lifeless. You can sometimes hear fish munching on the coral – there was nothing.”

For residents, there’s an additional fear: that tourists will turn their back on Ningaloo.

“People have been really devastated off the back of summer, and a lot of people are talking about how they were crying in the water, coming out of the ocean just really upset,” says Sara Morgillo, who moved here from Perth to dive and work in conservation.

“There’s still amazing parts of the reef here that are worth seeing and we’re still running dive tours every day,” she adds.

“I think it’s also really important to witness what’s happening and [see] the effects of the marine heat wave that we’ve had.”

Scientists are all in agreement about what’s causing this heatwave: rising carbon emissions are heating up the planet and its oceans. According to Nasa, the ocean is where 90% of global warming is happening – and the last decade was its warmest since the 1800s. Last year was its warmest on record.

These more worrying superlatives are threatening Australia’s famous landmarks. But there’s another, more home-grown problem too.

Just up the coast from Ningaloo is one of the world’s largest fossil fuel projects, the North West Shelf gas plant. In May, the Australian government announced it would allow Woodside, the company which runs the project, to keep it operating until 2070.

The same company is also trying to get approval to develop Australia’s biggest untapped gas reserves in the Browse Basin, further up the coast.

Getty Images A red rock shelf in the foreground with an industrial site in the background, including a flaming gas tower — *Huge fossil fuel projects are continuing with government approval in Australia – despite record levels of global warming [BBC]*

While these projects alone don’t create the heat that’s damaging Ningaloo, it’s a symbol of the competing interests in Western Australia – where the gas industry fuels the economy far more than tourism.

“The Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo are sources of deep wonder, the equivalent of Antarctica or the Serengeti or the Amazon,” says the Australian Marine Conservation Society’s Paul Gamblin.

“The juxtaposition is incomprehensible: at a time when places like Ningaloo are clearly suffering the consequences of climate change, for government even to contemplate opening up new fossil fuel projects… It shouldn’t happen, and governments need to draw a line in the sand and make a clear commitment not to make the situation even worse.”

While the larger debate continues over the use of fossil fuels, scientists are working to better understand the reef in an effort to help it.

The University of Queensland’s Dr Chris Roelfsema and his team are mapping Ningaloo by taking photos of the corals and linking them with drone images. That way they can better track their health.

“People ask me, what can we do? Well, the first thing you can do is choose politicians that are considering reducing fossil fuels and are [supportive of] renewable energies,” says Dr Roelfsema. “Your vote has a voice for politicians, so you can choose that. But you can also drive less, [use] public transport, not have your air conditioning on all the time – these are all things that can help reduce our footprint.”

There’s also science being done in the lab. Dr Quigley and her team at Minderoo have been selectively breeding combinations of corals to find out which types are the most tolerant to higher temperatures.

“We have these fertilized eggs from many, many different genetic backgrounds and we raise them over a series of days until we have coral babies, coral teenagers,” she explains. “Just like butterflies, corals also undergo different metamorphoses and stages.”

By testing those corals, researchers can assess which ones are more tolerant to higher temperatures. Then the idea is to place them back in the water.

*Scientists have compared the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo to the Amazon and the Serengeti [BBC]*

While Dr Quigley has done this in the Great Barrier Reef, it’s at a much earlier stage here in Ningaloo – and she admits that the method is not ideal.

“It would be very hard to scale for all reefs around the world,” she concedes. “It would make much more sense to get at the root cause, which is emissions, for that long-term livelihood of coral reefs.”

Viewed by critics as merely a sticking plaster, there’s pressure for authorities to do more. That brings Dr Quigley back to the bushfire analogy.

“Interestingly, when bushfires happen here in Australia, the authorities are on it very quickly – there’s a lot of response,” she says. “You don’t see that on the coral reefs in Australia.”

One reason may be because it’s corals at risk, not people. After all, there are no houses in the path of the underwater bushfire.

Experts, however, say such a view is shortsighted. Coral reefs are home to 25% of all marine life. But they also look after human life.

“They are absolutely supercharged with nature and diversity and support the tiniest creatures to the biggest,” says Paul Gamblin. “They also support millions of people’s livelihoods all over the world, and protect the coast from storm surges and extreme storm events that we’re seeing more with climate change. So they provide enormous services to the planet.”

These services often get forgotten by those above the surface. But as fossil fuels continue to warm the planet, life in the oceans is feeling the heat.

***[BBC]***

Getty Images A sea turtle swimming in the sea, seen from above — *Huge fossil fuel projects are continuing with government approval in Australia – despite record levels of global warming [BBC]*

While these projects alone don’t create the heat that’s damaging Ningaloo, it’s a symbol of the competing interests in Western Australia – where the gas industry fuels the economy far more than tourism.

“The Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo are sources of deep wonder, the equivalent of Antarctica or the Serengeti or the Amazon,” says the Australian Marine Conservation Society’s Paul Gamblin.

“The juxtaposition is incomprehensible: at a time when places like Ningaloo are clearly suffering the consequences of climate change, for government even to contemplate opening up new fossil fuel projects… It shouldn’t happen, and governments need to draw a line in the sand and make a clear commitment not to make the situation even worse.”

While the larger debate continues over the use of fossil fuels, scientists are working to better understand the reef in an effort to help it.

The University of Queensland’s Dr Chris Roelfsema and his team are mapping Ningaloo by taking photos of the corals and linking them with drone images. That way they can better track their health.

“People ask me, what can we do? Well, the first thing you can do is choose politicians that are considering reducing fossil fuels and are [supportive of] renewable energies,” says Dr Roelfsema. “Your vote has a voice for politicians, so you can choose that. But you can also drive less, [use] public transport, not have your air conditioning on all the time – these are all things that can help reduce our footprint.”

There’s also science being done in the lab. Dr Quigley and her team at Minderoo have been selectively breeding combinations of corals to find out which types are the most tolerant to higher temperatures.

“We have these fertilized eggs from many, many different genetic backgrounds and we raise them over a series of days until we have coral babies, coral teenagers,” she explains. “Just like butterflies, corals also undergo different metamorphoses and stages.”

By testing those corals, researchers can assess which ones are more tolerant to higher temperatures. Then the idea is to place them back in the water.

*Scientists have compared the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo to the Amazon and the Serengeti [BBC]*

While Dr Quigley has done this in the Great Barrier Reef, it’s at a much earlier stage here in Ningaloo – and she admits that the method is not ideal.

“It would be very hard to scale for all reefs around the world,” she concedes. “It would make much more sense to get at the root cause, which is emissions, for that long-term livelihood of coral reefs.”

Viewed by critics as merely a sticking plaster, there’s pressure for authorities to do more. That brings Dr Quigley back to the bushfire analogy.

“Interestingly, when bushfires happen here in Australia, the authorities are on it very quickly – there’s a lot of response,” she says. “You don’t see that on the coral reefs in Australia.”

One reason may be because it’s corals at risk, not people. After all, there are no houses in the path of the underwater bushfire.

Experts, however, say such a view is shortsighted. Coral reefs are home to 25% of all marine life. But they also look after human life.

“They are absolutely supercharged with nature and diversity and support the tiniest creatures to the biggest,” says Paul Gamblin. “They also support millions of people’s livelihoods all over the world, and protect the coast from storm surges and extreme storm events that we’re seeing more with climate change. So they provide enormous services to the planet.”

These services often get forgotten by those above the surface. But as fossil fuels continue to warm the planet, life in the oceans is feeling the heat.

***[BBC]***

All News Advertisement

Features

US’ drastic aid cut to UN poses moral challenge to world

Published

3 hours ago

2026/01/1

Thilina Walpola

An UN humanitarian mission in the Gaza. [File: Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency]

‘Adapt, shrink or die’ – thus runs the warning issued by the Trump administration to UN humanitarian agencies with brute insensitivity in the wake of its recent decision to drastically reduce to $2bn its humanitarian aid to the UN system. This is a substantial climb down from the $17bn the US usually provided to the UN for its humanitarian operations.

Considering that the US has hitherto been the UN’s biggest aid provider, it need hardly be said that the US decision would pose a daunting challenge to the UN’s humanitarian operations around the world. This would indeed mean that, among other things, people living in poverty and stifling material hardships, in particularly the Southern hemisphere, could dramatically increase. Coming on top of the US decision to bring to an end USAID operations, the poor of the world could be said to have been left to their devices as a consequence of these morally insensitive policy rethinks of the Trump administration.

Earlier, the UN had warned that it would be compelled to reduce its aid programs in the face of ‘the deepest funding cuts ever.’ In fact the UN is on record as requesting the world for $23bn for its 2026 aid operations.

If this UN appeal happens to go unheeded, the possibilities are that the UN would not be in a position to uphold the status it has hitherto held as the world’s foremost humanitarian aid provider. It would not be incorrect to state that a substantial part of the rationale for the UN’s existence could come in for questioning if its humanitarian identity is thus eroded.

Inherent in these developments is a challenge for those sections of the international community that wish to stand up and be counted as humanists and the ‘Conscience of the World.’ A responsibility is cast on them to not only keep the UN system going but to also ensure its increased efficiency as a humanitarian aid provider to particularly the poorest of the poor.

It is unfortunate that the US is increasingly opting for a position of international isolation. Such a policy position was adopted by it in the decades leading to World War Two and the consequences for the world as a result for this policy posture were most disquieting. For instance, it opened the door to the flourishing of dictatorial regimes in the West, such as that led by Adolph Hitler in Germany, which nearly paved the way for the subjugation of a good part of Europe by the Nazis.

If the US had not intervened militarily in the war on the side of the Allies, the West would have faced the distressing prospect of coming under the sway of the Nazis and as a result earned indefinite political and military repression. By entering World War Two the US helped to ward off these bleak outcomes and indeed helped the major democracies of Western Europe to hold their own and thrive against fascism and dictatorial rule.

Republican administrations in the US in particular have not proved the greatest defenders of democratic rule the world over, but by helping to keep the international power balance in favour of democracy and fundamental human rights they could keep under a tight leash fascism and linked anti-democratic forces even in contemporary times. Russia’s invasion and continued occupation of parts of Ukraine reminds us starkly that the democracy versus fascism battle is far from over.

Right now, the US needs to remain on the side of the rest of the West very firmly, lest fascism enjoys another unfettered lease of life through the absence of countervailing and substantial military and political power.

However, by reducing its financial support for the UN and backing away from sustaining its humanitarian programs the world over the US could be laying the ground work for an aggravation of poverty in the South in particular and its accompaniments, such as, political repression, runaway social discontent and anarchy.

What should not go unnoticed by the US is the fact that peace and social stability in the South and the flourishing of the same conditions in the global North are symbiotically linked, although not so apparent at first blush. For instance, if illegal migration from the South to the US is a major problem for the US today, it is because poor countries are not receiving development assistance from the UN system to the required degree. Such deprivation on the part of the South leads to aggravating social discontent in the latter and consequences such as illegal migratory movements from South to North.

Accordingly, it will be in the North’s best interests to ensure that the South is not deprived of sustained development assistance since the latter is an essential condition for social contentment and stable governance, which factors in turn would guard against the emergence of phenomena such as illegal migration.

Meanwhile, democratic sections of the rest of the world in particular need to consider it a matter of conscience to ensure the sustenance and flourishing of the UN system. To be sure, the UN system is considerably flawed but at present it could be called the most equitable and fair among international development organizations and the most far-flung one. Without it world poverty would have proved unmanageable along with the ills that come along with it.

Dehumanizing poverty is an indictment on humanity. It stands to reason that the world community should rally round the UN and ensure its survival lest the abomination which is poverty flourishes. In this undertaking the world needs to stand united. Ambiguities on this score could be self-defeating for the world community.

For example, all groupings of countries that could demonstrate economic muscle need to figure prominently in this initiative. One such grouping is BRICS. Inasmuch as the US and the West should shrug aside Realpolitik considerations in this enterprise, the same goes for organizations such as BRICS.

The arrival at the above international consensus would be greatly facilitated by stepped up dialogue among states on the continued importance of the UN system. Fresh efforts to speed-up UN reform would prove major catalysts in bringing about these positive changes as well. Also requiring to be shunned is the blind pursuit of narrow national interests.

Features

Egg white scene …

Published

3 hours ago

2026/01/1

Thilina Walpola

Hi! Great to be back after my Christmas break.

Thought of starting this week with egg white.

Yes, eggs are brimming with nutrients beneficial for your overall health and wellness, but did you know that eggs, especially the whites, are excellent for your complexion?

OK, if you have no idea about how to use egg whites for your face, read on.

Egg White, Lemon, Honey:

Separate the yolk from the egg white and add about a teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice and about one and a half teaspoons of organic honey. Whisk all the ingredients together until they are mixed well.

Apply this mixture to your face and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes before cleansing your face with a gentle face wash.

Don’t forget to apply your favourite moisturiser, after using this face mask, to help seal in all the goodness.

Egg White, Avocado:

In a clean mixing bowl, start by mashing the avocado, until it turns into a soft, lump-free paste, and then add the whites of one egg, a teaspoon of yoghurt and mix everything together until it looks like a creamy paste.

Apply this mixture all over your face and neck area, and leave it on for about 20 to 30 minutes before washing it off with cold water and a gentle face wash.

Egg White, Cucumber, Yoghurt:

In a bowl, add one egg white, one teaspoon each of yoghurt, fresh cucumber juice and organic honey. Mix all the ingredients together until it forms a thick paste.

Apply this paste all over your face and neck area and leave it on for at least 20 minutes and then gently rinse off this face mask with lukewarm water and immediately follow it up with a gentle and nourishing moisturiser.

Egg White, Aloe Vera, Castor Oil:

To the egg white, add about a teaspoon each of aloe vera gel and castor oil and then mix all the ingredients together and apply it all over your face and neck area in a thin, even layer.

Leave it on for about 20 minutes and wash it off with a gentle face wash and some cold water. Follow it up with your favourite moisturiser.

Features

Confusion cropping up with Ne-Yo in the spotlight

Published

3 hours ago

2026/01/1

Thilina Walpola

Ne-Yo: His management should clarify the last-minute cancellation

Superlatives galore were used, especially on social media, to highlight R&B singer Ne-Yo’s trip to Sri Lanka: Global superstar Ne-Yo to perform live in Colombo this December; Ne-Yo concert puts Sri Lanka back on the global entertainment map; A global music sensation is coming to Sri Lanka … and there were lots more!

At an official press conference, held at a five-star venue, in Colombo, it was indicated that the gathering marked a defining moment for Sri Lanka’s entertainment industry as international R&B powerhouse and three-time Grammy Award winner Ne-Yo prepares to take the stage in Colombo this December.

What’s more, the occasion was graced by the presence of Sunil Kumara Gamage, Minister of Sports & Youth Affairs of Sri Lanka, and Professor Ruwan Ranasinghe, Deputy Minister of Tourism, alongside distinguished dignitaries, sponsors, and members of the media.

Shah Rukh Khan: Disappointed his fans in Sri Lanka

According to reports, the concert had received the official endorsement of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, recognising it as a flagship initiative in developing the country’s concert economy by attracting fans, and media, from all over South Asia.

Nick Carter: His concert, too, was cancelled due to “Unforeseen circumstances

However, I had that strange feeling that this concert would not become a reality, keeping in mind what happened to Nick Carter’s Colombo concert – cancelled at the very last moment.

Carter issued a video message announcing he had to return to the USA due to “unforeseen circumstances” and a “family emergency”.

Though “unforeseen circumstances” was the official reason provided by Carter and the local organisers, there was speculation that low ticket sales may also have been a factor in the cancellation.

Well, “Unforeseen Circumstances” has cropped up again!

In a brief statement, via social media, the organisers of the Ne-Yo concert said the decision was taken due to “unforeseen circumstances and factors beyond their control.”

Ne-Yo, too, subsequently made an announcement, citing “Unforeseen circumstances.”

The public has a right to know what these “unforeseen circumstances” are, and who is to be blamed – the organisers or Ne-Yo!

Ne-Yo’s management certainly need to come out with the truth.

However, those who are aware of some of the happenings in the setup here put it down to poor ticket sales, mentioning that the tickets for the concert, and a meet-and-greet event, were exorbitantly high, considering that Ne-Yo is not a current mega star.

We also had a cancellation coming our way from Shah Rukh Khan, who was scheduled to visit Sri Lanka for the City of Dreams resort launch, and then this was received: “Unfortunately due to unforeseen personal reasons beyond his control, Mr. Khan is no longer able to attend.”

Referring to this kind of mess up, a leading showbiz personality said that it will only make people reluctant to buy their tickets, online.

“Tickets will go mostly at the gate and it will be very bad for the industry,” he added.