First footage is transmitted live from the depths of the Indian Ocean: Mission to explore the effects global warming will have on 2.5 BILLION people in the region gets underway

• Much of the Indian Ocean is already feeling the effects of global warming
• This affects the species that live there and 2.5 billion people in the region
• Nekton Mission will conduct dives in parts of the Indian Ocean over three years
• Research will contribute to a summit on the state of ocean planned for late 2021
• Each mission is being live-streamed across the internet as it happens

A British-led mission to explore the depths of the Indian Ocean has broadcast its first live transmission from a two-person submersible.

The first broadcast came from 60 meters (200 feet) down, whereas previous deep-sea livestreams cataloguing the world’s oceans have been via fibre-optic cable.

The Nekton Mission, run by ocean research institute Nekton, will shed light on the impact global warming is having deep below the surface of one of the world’s least explored areas.

It will gather data and gain munch-needed understanding of the Indian Ocean’s ecosystem and to see if any new species are lurking there.

Unveiled at the Commonwealth headquarters in London, the project will help us learn how life is distributed in the seas in the face of climate change.

The mission will also explore what effect climated change will have on the estimated 2.5 billion people at home in the region – from East Africa, South and Southeast Asia.