Global warming’s extreme rains threaten Hawaii’s coral reefs
April 15, 2021 10:06AM AKDT
FILE – In this Sept. 12, 2019, file photo, fish swim near coral in Kahala’u Bay in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Flooding in March 2021 in Hawaii caused widespread and obvious damage. But extreme regional rain events that are predicted to become more common with global warming do not only wreak havoc on land, the runoff from these increasingly severe storms is also threatening Hawaii’s coral reefs. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones, File)
By CALEB JONES Associated Press
HONOLULU (AP) — Recent flooding in Hawaii caused widespread and obvious damage. But extreme rain events that are predicted to become more common with global warming do not only wreak havoc on land. The runoff from these increasingly severe storms is also threatening Hawaii’s coral reefs. The runoff problem is multifaceted, but one of the biggest issues is pollution from the state’s 88,000 cesspools, which regularly overflow into the ocean when there’s heavy rain. And while increasing ocean temperatures can sicken and kill coral, scientists say the less well known threat of runoff could prove more serious for reefs in the Hawaiian Islands.
