Since the United States launched its military campaign against Iran in February, the Strait of Hormuz has become a battlefield that is also an environmental disaster. Satellite imagery shows hundreds of oil slicks spreading across the Gulf, contaminating coastlines and threatening the region’s marine life.
Oil tankers have been struck by missiles and sea mines in the busy waterway, releasing crude into the sea. The pollution has reached the shores of the United Arab Emirates, where oil washes up on beaches in Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain. The slicks are visible from space, a stark reminder of the war’s ecological cost.
Marine biologists warn that the Gulf’s shallow waters and limited water circulation make it especially vulnerable. “The Gulf is shallow, and summer is the least windy period of the year, so atmospheric heat is rapidly translated into ocean heat,” says Bernhard Riegl, a marine biologist at Nova Southeastern University. “That heat kills corals, algae, fishes. There is no cold, deep water that could mix and buffer this heat.”
Oil can coat birds’ feathers, impairing their ability to float and find food, and it can smother mangrove roots, preventing oxygen absorption and potentially killing the trees. The region’s coral reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass meadows—home to dolphins, sea turtles and countless fish species—are already under pressure from shipping, oil extraction and coastal development. The war threatens to add a lasting layer of damage.
Greenpeace has identified more than 500 oil spill incidents through satellite monitoring across the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea since the conflict began. The organization’s findings include major spills linked to missile strikes and naval mines, underscoring the scale of the environmental crisis.
Riegl cautions that “there is no such thing as a ‘clean war’,” emphasizing that both humans and the environment suffer the consequences of the conflict. The Gulf’s fragile ecosystems, already strained by the climate crisis, face a generational threat from the ongoing oil pollution.
Source: The Guardian World
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Editorial note: This is an original news report prepared from the attributed source material with AI assistance. It is not a reproduction or translation of the original article.
