Global warming is to blame for the rising temperature of the oceans around the world, and for widely destroying the natural environment of the coral reefs. Now in Taiwan, we are experiencing the same problem with the coral reefs around the Kengting area massively disappearing, at a rate faster than previous estimation.

This is footage captured six years ago by an underwater monitoring system off the coast of the No. 3 nuclear power plant in Kenting.

At the time, the area was covered in a virtual forest of staghorn coral.

However, research conducted by the Academia Sinica shows that water temperature around the plant have risen by four degrees over the past 25 years, and that the change has had a devastating effect on the area's coral colonies.

Experts say that smooth cauliflower coral, bird's nest coral, and grand staghorn coral have all but disappeared from the area. Although some types of coral are resistant to heat, global warming, rising water temperatures, and unstable weather conditions are wreaking havoc on marine life.

Both domestic and foreign researchers believe that a high percentage of the world's coral colonies will be gone by 2050, and that coral could be extinct by the turn of the century.

Researchers in Taiwan believe that coral will disappear at an even faster rate than previously anticipated if action isn't undertaken to reduce carbon emissions.

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