An increase in water temperature can result in the death of many aquatic organisms and disrupt many marine habitats. For example, a rise in water temperatures causes coral bleaching of reefs around the world. This is when the coral expels the microorganisms of which it is dependent on. This can result in great damage to coral reefs and subsequently, all the marine life that depends on it.

The rise in the Earth's water temperature is caused by global warming.

• Global warming is a process where the average global temperature increases due to the greenhouse effect.

• The burning of fossil fuel releases greenhouse gasses, such as carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere.

• This causes heat from the sun to get ‘trapped’ in the Earths atmosphere and consequently the global temperature rises.