Nearly 84% of the world's reefs are affected by the largest coral bleaching crisis ever recorded.
Environment Editorial, April 23 (EFEverde).- The largest coral bleaching crisis recorded to date, caused by ocean warming, now affects 83.7% of the world's reef surface, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The latest NOAA data indicates that between January 1, 2023, and April 20, 2025, mass coral bleaching has been documented in at least 83 countries and territories around the world.
These effects come amid the fourth global coral bleaching event, confirmed on April 15 by NOAA in collaboration with the International Coral Reef Initiative, and which represents the largest crisis of its kind recorded to date.
The previous record was reached during the third mass event, between 2014 and 2017, when 68.2% of the world's reef surface suffered bleaching due to heat stress.
The first and second mass coral bleaching events occurred in 1998 and 2010, respectively.
NOAA Coral Reef Watch Coordinator Derek Manzello warned last week that bleaching events were being documented in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres "in every single ocean basin" and that as oceans warm, these events are becoming more frequent and severe.
According to the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), reefs occur in more than 100 countries and, although they cover only 0.2% of the seafloor, they support at least 25% of marine species. EFEverde
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