National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials warn that record-breaking temperatures are endangering coral reefs and causing chaos in the world’s oceans.
Derek Manzello, coordinator of NOAA’s Coral Reef Monitoring Program, announced during a press conference that approximately 60.5% of the world’s coral reefs are at risk of bleaching due to high water temperatures, which can be a serious health threat. Manzello emphasized that corals are experiencing significant heat stress.
Coral bleaching occurs when abnormal ocean conditions, such as unusually hot or cold water temperatures or increased acidity, cause corals to expel photosynthetic algae from their tissues. This results in the corals turning a ghostly white color.
The current threat follows a previous marine heatwave that affected most of the world’s ocean basins last year.
Manzello mentioned that the heat levels last year were exceptionally high in parts of the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico, surpassing the existing warning system charts.
To address the severity of the situation, NOAA introduced an updated bleaching alert system that categorizes heat stress on a scale of 1 to 5. According to Manzello, an Alert Level 5 indicates that around 80% or more of corals on a reef may die, similar to the impact of a Category 5 hurricane.
NOAA Coral Reef Watch reported zones at alert levels 4 and 5 in various regions, indicating widespread bleaching occurrences in 62 countries and territories across both hemispheres.
Manzello highlighted the unprecedented extremes in Atlantic water temperatures, with nearly all of the Atlantic’s coral reef regions experiencing bleaching-level heat stress in the past year.
While bleaching doesn’t always kill corals outright, it does make them more vulnerable to diseases. NOAA confirmed that Earth is currently undergoing a global coral bleaching event, attributed to record ocean temperatures exacerbated by climate change and the natural climate cycle of El Niño.
El Niño events, characterized by elevated sea surface temperatures, worsen the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems.
The previous global coral bleaching event from 2014 to 2017 affected over half of the world’s coral reefs, according to NOAA.
Source: www.nbcnews.com
