Due to escalating military conflicts around Iran and the United Arab Emirates, the Strait of Hormuz is experiencing severe underwater noise and explosive pollution, posing a serious threat to the local, endemic, and non-migratory population of Arabian humpback whales (of which only about 100 remain). Low-frequency noise generated by heavy shipping traffic, military sonar, mine laying, and underwater explosions overlaps significantly with the acoustic frequency bands that whales use for communication, foraging, and navigation, leading to reduced foraging, decreased reproductive capacity, and weakened immunity; Underwater blast shockwaves can directly kill or cause deafness in whales. Combined with the species’ inherent vulnerability due to its small population size and slow reproduction rate, this has pushed it to the brink of extinction, making it a direct victim of the costs of war.
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