Rising ocean temperatures have triggered what scientists with NOAA now call a “global coral bleaching event” that’s afflicting both the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
In an alarming but not necessarily irrevocable assessment, scientists reported Monday that “significant coral bleaching” in both hemispheres has occurred since early 2023. The affected areas range from Florida and the Caribbean to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and portions of the Indian Ocean.
“As the world’s oceans continue to warm, coral bleaching is becoming more frequent and severe,” Derek Manzello, coordinator of NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch program, said in a statement.
Manzello added that “when these events are sufficiently severe or prolonged, they can cause coral mortality, which hurts the people who depend on the coral reefs for their livelihoods.”
