The Minister stated that an assessment and survey of several sites in the Northern Islands Protectorate have been conducted. The results so far show that the coral reefs have not been affected by the rising temperatures and bleaching phenomena observed in 2023 and 2024. This is attributed to a shorter period of high sea surface temperatures compared to the previous two years.
Dr. Awad noted that the survey indicators for several coral
reef sites show that most colonies that had experienced bleaching in the
Northern Islands Protectorate have returned to their normal state. This
demonstrates their high resilience in the face of varying weather conditions
and the effects of climate change.
She added that the coral reef monitoring program is an annual initiative by the Ministry of Environment, conducted with experts from natural protectorates in the Red Sea and South Sinai, in collaboration with specialized professors from Egyptian universities. The program uses standard monitoring methods to measure the condition of the coral cover and assess the various external impacts, as coral reefs globally are exposed to the effects of climate change due to rising sea surface temperatures.