The world stands on the brink of witnessing its fourth mass coral bleaching event, a phenomenon that threatens to hit a vast expanses of tropical reefs, including significant portions of Australia‘s iconic Great Barrier Reef.
This dire prediction from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has marine biologists on high alert following a series of record-breaking ocean temperatures driven by climate change and the El Niño climate pattern.
Derek Manzello, the coordinator of NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch, expressed grave concerns about the impending crisis. “It’s looking like the entirety of the Southern Hemisphere is probably going to bleach this year,” he stated, emphasising the unprecedented scale of the potential disaster. “We are literally sitting on the cusp of the worst bleaching event in the history of the planet.”
Coral bleaching, a stress response triggered by elevated sea temperatures, leads to corals expelling the symbiotic algae that give them their vibrant colors. This loss not only leaves the corals pale and weakened but also jeopardizes the rich biodiversity they support.