NOAA Confirms Fourth Global Coral Bleaching Event

The world is currently experiencing a global coral bleaching event, according to NOAA scientists. This is the fourth global event on record and the second in the last 10 years. Bleaching-level heat stress, as remotely monitored and predicted by NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch (CRW), has been—and continues to be—extensive across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean basins. CRW’s heat-stress monitoring is based on sea surface temperature data, spanning 1985 to the present, from a blend of NOAA and partner satellites. Credits: NOAA NASA CIRA Coral reef footage courtesy of NOAA Fisheries. Cheeca Rocks photos courtesy of Andrew Ibarra/NOAA US Virgin Island Boulder Coral photos courtesy of Leslie Henderson/NOAA Music: “Shimmer Oscillations” by James Joshua Otto [PRS]; Atmosphere; Universal Production Music