According to American experts, coral bleaching, which has been going on for months in many parts of the world, has increased significantly again. The US marine agency NOAA announced on Thursday (local time) that the phenomenon, which is life-threatening for corals, has now been observed in 62 countries and territories.
That’s nine more states and territories than NOAA’s previous warning in mid-April. Areas of coral bleaching that have since been re-recorded include India and Sri Lanka. The phenomenon caused by high ocean temperatures “continues to grow in magnitude and impact,” says NOAA coral reef monitoring expert Derek Manzello. He made a direct connection with global temperature rise: “This wouldn’t happen without climate change.”
Reef closed on holiday island Phuket
Bleaching affects reefs in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The current massive coral bleaching is taking place on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and Thailand, among other places. In Thailand, Pling Island and the reef around Sirinart National Park on the holiday island of Phuket were closed to visitors last week due to coral bleaching.
According to NOAA data, 60.5 percent of the world’s coral reefs have experienced bleaching sea temperatures over the past 12 months. If the water is too warm, the corals repel the algae that live in them, which is their main food source. As a result, the corals lose their color and are in mortal danger.
Fourth bleaching event since measurements began
NOAA’s monitoring of coral heat stress has been based on satellite measurements since 1985. The current mass coral bleaching event is the fourth in history; the phenomenon has already occurred three times between 1998 and 2017.
The previous global coral bleaching event between 2014 and 2017 remains the most devastating to date, according to Manzello. However, he warned that current coral bleaching could spread to reefs in the Caribbean and off the coast of the US state of Florida as seas continue to warm this summer.
Will 2024 be the warmest year since measurements began?
According to NOAA expert Karin Gleason, this year has a 61 percent chance of being the warmest year on record worldwide. It is already 100 percent certain that it will be one of the five warmest years. So far, 2023 holds the record as the warmest year.
Of the oceans, the Atlantic Ocean is particularly affected by the high temperatures of the current year, Manzello explains. However, he hopes that the cooling weather phenomenon La Niña will come to the corals’ aid in the coming months. Then the percentage of reef areas affected by bleaching would “begin to decline,” the NOAA expert said.
Source: Krone
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
