While the majority of the world focuses on other major issues such as the current Eastern European War, elections, and more, Egypt’s severe issue has been under-addressed. As of now, the coral reef near Egypt has fallen under speculation. As the years have gone by, climate change, although the small difference in temperature, has been a major factor in damaging the reef. Experts say, climate change is expected to cause more than 74% of all coral reefs in Egypt to die by the year 2100, which may seem like a long time away, however in the grand scheme of things, this is not long at all.

“As for northern regions, it rises in the north to a reasonable degree, and it is expected that the rise in temperatures in Egypt will remain within permissible limits (25 to 40 degrees Celsius). However, if the scenario presented by the study materializes, and the temperature rises to higher than permissible degrees, the coral reefs in Egypt will be endangered.” 

The major cause for this? The Climate Change zones are shifting upwards. The results of this have been described by Egypt’s minister of Environment. “Coral reefs in Egypt will be the last affected by climate change, based on many scientific studies, so it has great importance in ecotourism. We implemented a comprehensive survey of the marine environment in the Gulf of Aqaba, in order to monitor the state of the marine environment in general.”

This may not seem like a big deal for day-to-day life in Egypt or anywhere else, however the truth is this reef is a large attraction for many tourists across the world, including its own residents. According to officials that work alongside the minister of environment, they are working on a study that will help give them closure for how long they have and what next steps they should take to prevent major damage. 

Many knew that this was going to happen beforehand, as in 2019 the Reef-World Foundation called for people to take their next steps to help prevent damage to the reef. Hisham Gabr, the head of the Environment and Sustainable Tourism Committee warns the population that climate change is not the only thing that could threaten the reefs, there are also other possibilities such as faulty oil pipelines, oil fires, and more. 

Egypt and its people are calling for the people around them to be mindful of their issues and find ways to work together for the good of their environment.