British-South African endurance swimmer and UN Patron of the Oceans Lewis Pugh is swimming in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh to raise awareness of the importance of coral reefs.
In a Twitter post, Pugh stated that his goal is to cut the emissions that are affecting the coral reefs in the sea. The endeavour comes ahead of the scheduled UN Climate Change summit (COP27) in Egypt.
Today, I’ll swim into Sharm El-Sheikh, where this year’s crucial UN Climate Summit kicks off in just 3 weeks ?
— Lewis Pugh (@LewisPugh) October 14, 2022
I’m bringing world leaders a message: If we don’t drastically cut our emissions, we risk losing all the world’s coral reefs.
That would be devastating. #COP27 pic.twitter.com/pbtMraFEAF
Swimmer Lewis Pugh said that it is important to understand that coral reefs are about to extinct if the world doesn't cut emissions. He also pointed out that coral reefs are being destroyed by warming oceans due to climate change.
The swimmer added that water temperatures in the Red Sea can reach up to 31°C, while air temperature can exceed 40°C.
During his 160km swim between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Mostafa Zaki, an Egyptian swimmer, joined Lewis Pugh in his '#CoralSwim'.
About COP summit
COP summit is an annual conference by the UN to assess progress in dealing with climate change.
The COP27 summit is expected to take place in Egypt's Sharm El-Sheikh in about three weeks. COP28 will take place in the United Arab Emirates.
