Due to global warming, pollution, climatic changes and unjustified needs of mankind many of the world’s beautiful natural wonders are under threat and disappearing fast. A recent study suggest that these disappearing natural world wonders will be wiped off from the face of the earth in not more than 20-30 years.
Top 10 Disappearing Natural World Wonders
Though these natural world wonders may seem timeless, but the brutal fact is that most of them are in peril, under threat from global warming, mining, deforestation, illegal consumption. In some parts even unstable tourism is also harming these natural world wonders. If you are an avid tourist just visit these 10 natural world wonders before they disappear.
1. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
If scientists are to be believed then Australia’s Great Barrier Reef would disappear by year 2030. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest living organism is under threat from rising sea temperatures, excessive commercial tourism and fishing which have already done irreversible damage to large parts of the Great Barrier Reef. Just like other natural world wonders, Great Barrier Reef is suffering every day.
2. Dead Sea, Jordan
The Dead Sea in the Mediterranean Basin is disappearing so fast that seaside resorts built in the 80’s are now kilometers away from the water’s edge, losing a third of its surface area in the last 40 years. Renowned for its healthful salt and minerals, the sea has been plundered for use in the cosmetic and mineral industries, and its waters are tapped by its bordering countries of Jordan, Israel and Syria for agriculture domestic use.
3. Swiss Alps, Switzerland
There was a time when Swiss Alps were always capped with snow even in summers but due to rising temperature and lower snowfall even Rhône Glacier has begun to melt. Global warming is hurting such natural world wonders very badly.
4. Congo Basin, Africa
The massive rainforest of Congo Basin spreads across 6 nations, for 1.3 million square miles and is home to hundreds of endangered species of plants and animals. Each year up to 10 million acres of this natural wonder is destroyed by mining, logging and warfare, leading scientists to believe that if the degradation continues, by 2040 two thirds of the forest and its wildlife will be wiped out.
5. Madagascar
With 100,000 square miles (90%) of its forests already gone, Madagascar is predicted to be completely deforested in the next 35 years if something is not done to protect the diverse environment of the world’s fourth -largest island. The percentage of forest left is home to some of the world’s most unique species of animals, including lemurs, chameleons, reptiles and over 280 species of birds.
6. Antarctica
Due to global warming, Antarctic Peninsula has 40 % less sea ice than it once had, and it is predicted that within the next 20 to 40 years that no ice will form in Antarctica at all which also means there will be no giant icebergs, incredible wildlife, penguins and whales or polar bear.
7. Maldives
Due to global warming Maldives is under threat of rising sea level because it is the world’s lowest lying country. In next 20-30 years Maldives white sands, turquoise waters and beautiful coral atolls will be submerged under sea waters.
8. Everglades, Florida, USA
Florida’s vast stretch of wetlands is one of just three places in the world to be named a World Heritage Site, a Biosphere Reserve and a Wetland of National Importance. The Everglades is the largest sub-tropical wilderness in the United States and is home to a plethora of unique flora, however over 60% of its water is now being tapped by nearby cities and farms and pollution threatens its fragile ecosystem. Home to the Endangered Florida Panther, manatees, turtles, alligators and thousands of species of birds.
9. Glacier National Park, Montana, USA
In this spectacular area of Flathead & Glacier County in Montana that extends all the way to British Columbia on the Canadian border, the mountains are estimated to be over 170 million years old and are home to some of the most impressive fossils of early life found anywhere in the world. Once home to over 150 glaciers, today a meager 25 remain, and with rising temperatures due to global warming, these too are disappearing at an alarming rate.
10. Amazon, South America
Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world, also largest natural resources, the Amazon Rainforest has been under threat for so long that it is hard to believe it still exists at all. Roughly 5.4 million acres of the forest is cleared each year in Brazil alone. The deforestation, mining and pollution from these not only threatens the forest and its wildlife but also the mighty Amazon River and its unique marine life. With one in ten species of animal in the world living in the Amazon, and with the highest diversity of flora in the world, see this amazing natural wonder before it is too late.
I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences of visiting these natural wonders which are visibly under threats from global warming, mining, deforestation and other human intervention. Please leave me a comment and let me know. Subscribe our RSS to receive latest travel updates. Also read top 15 wonders of the world.
