Are there coral reefs on the central east and west coasts of India?
No. The conditions here, especially salinity and high sediment load, are not ideal for coral growth. Most major rivers of India, like the Ganges, flow into the sea on the east coast, bringing in lots of sediments that would not allow the corals to grow. On the west coast, the monsoon is intense from June to August. The fresh water flow into the sea at this time reduces salinity to less than half of the normal and the sea water becomes murky brownish with the sediments. 37. Was it always like this? No. There were coral reefs along the west coast some 18,000 years ago. These reefs got drowned (sank below the lighted layers) when the sea level started rising fast during the last glacial ice melt. Some reefs later started growing near the coast but the change of climate to monsoon style some 6000 years ago killed them also. Not all of them are lost, however. Some die-hard stragglers have managed to reach the shore and grow there. We can see them as isolated patches on the coast. They do no
