Attractions That Are Being Destroyed by Climate Change

One of Australia’s most famous natural wonders is losing its corals. Global warming has led to warmer waters which have caused bleaching — when corals get rid off the algae in them, turning white. So far this has killed about a third of the 3,863 reefs, which make up the world’s largest coral system.

The U.S. Geological Survey has warned that Glacier National Park — known for the Going-to-the-Sun Road, glacier peaks, the Hidden Lake, and hundreds of hiking trails in the wilderness — is shrinking because the glaciers are disappearing.

Some of the glaciers have lost as much as 85% of their size since 1966 due to warmer temperatures melting their ice. Only 26 glaciers are larger than 25 acres, which is the minimum for a body of ice to be considered a glacier.

The Maldives, a popular tourist destination, is just about 3.3 feet above sea level. The country was formed from coral sands, making it extremely vulnerable to global warming and the resulting rising sea levels. Most of the islands will be underwater by the end of the century, according to some estimates. The Maldives already has a problem with frequent flooding due to storm surges.

The wine region in France is already known as having hot summers and cold winters, but climate change is causing more extreme temperatures. This can destroy grapes in vineyards, which is terrible news for wine drinkers.

The rise in temperature will also bring very wet winters as a result of ice in the Alps melting. The fact that there will be less ice to melt in the first place means less water running into the Valley, leading to more droughts.

All Alpine glaciers have decreased in size over the last century, largely due to global warming. And less water is being stored as ice. Floods and avalanches have become more common. The increasingly warmer temperatures in the Alps will damage the permanently frozen layer, leading to more rock falls and landslides.