Following last night’s stark warning for Irish coastal cities and towns, RTÉ’s On Climate season of TV programmes continues tonight (Tuesday 12 November) with a look at how climate change, pollution and overfishing have directly affected biodiversity around Ireland’s coasts.
Presented by Philip Boucher Hayes, Hot Air: Ireland’s Climate Crisis includes footage off the Kerry coast that shows how much that part of the Atlantic has been reduced from an area once teeming with life to a virtual desert.
As the Irish Examiner reports, one of the main culprits is change in ocean temperature and chemical composition as waters absorb increased levels of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Underwater wildlife guide and filmmaker Vinnie Hyland also explains how the “drop-off” in marine life has revealed an increase in plastic pollution that poses a growing threat to those species that remain.
He says: “The depressing part is what we are doing to the marine life and because it is underwater, it is invisible.”
Hot Air: Ireland’s Climate Crisis broadcasts tonight at 9.30pm on RTÉ One. The Irish Examiner has more on the story HERE.
