The mass bleaching of coral reefs since February 2023 has reached unprecedented levels, impacting 77% of the world's coral areas, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This event marks the most extensive coral bleaching on record, with satellite data revealing that a staggering amount of coral from the Atlantic to the Pacific and Indian Oceans is under severe heat stress.
NOAA Coral Reef Watch coordinator Derek Manzello stated, "This event is still increasing in spatial extent and we've broken the previous record by more than 11% in about half the amount of time." The global bleaching event, declared in April 2024, is the fourth of its kind since 1998, surpassing the previous record of 66% affected from 2014 to 2017.
Coral bleaching occurs when corals expel the algae that provide them with color and nutrition, leaving them vulnerable to starvation and disease. Recent assessments have confirmed bleaching in locations such as Palau, Guam, and Israel, with high heat stress also reported in the Caribbean and South China Sea.
As scientists prepare for an emergency session at the upcoming United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity summit, they stress the urgent need for global action to protect coral reefs, which provide approximately $2.7 trillion in goods and services annually.