UN warns of 'deepening crisis' in oceans, urges action

Each year, 52.1 million tonnes of plastic waste spills into the ocean, contributing to an estimated 24.4 trillion microplastic particles

PARIS (FRANCE) - Oceans are in a "deepening crisis" that demands urgent global action, a major UN report warned Monday, with seas warming and rising faster, ice cover shrinking and marine ecosystems under mounting strain.

The culmination of five years of work by 600 international scientists, the 1,352-page tome details the growing toll of climate change, pollution and overfishing in our oceans, which cover more than 70 percent of the planet.