Ethiopia, Oct. 5 -- Addis Ababa, October 5, 2021 (Walta ) - The world's coral reefs are under attack by climate change and more will disappear if oceans keep warming, according to a report released today.

The study by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), a U.N.-supported global data network, showed that 14% of the world's coral on reefs was already lost between 2009 and 2018, equal to about 11,700 square kilometers, an area 2.5 times the size of Grand Canyon National Park.

Corals face an "existential crisis," scientists said, as sea surface temperatures rise. The report spanned data for 40 years, 73 countries and 12,000 sites. Sharp spikes in warming are particularly damaging, a phenomenon scientists say is linked to human-...