In a dire warning, scientists have revealed that the world’s coral reefs have entered ‘uncharted territory’ due to the worst global bleaching event on record, which has now impacted over 80% of the planet’s reefs.
Data from the US government’s Coral Reef Watch indicates that reefs in at least 82 countries and territories have suffered from heat levels high enough to cause corals to turn white since the onset of this event in January 2023.
Known as the rainforests of the sea, coral reefs are crucial to global biodiversity, supporting roughly a third of all marine species and one billion people.
However, unprecedented ocean temperatures have swept through the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans like an underwater wildfire, causing irreversible damage to countless coral formations.
According to reports, 84% of coral reefs are currently experiencing bleaching-level heat, a significant increase from the 68% recorded during the previous bleaching event that lasted from 2014 to 2017.
To put this crisis in perspective, only 37% of reefs were affected in 2010 and a mere 21% during the first event in 1998.
Even reefs previously considered thermal refuges, such as those in Raja Ampat and the Gulf of Eilat, have now been severely bleached, indicating that ocean warming has reached severe levels, leaving no sanctuary for coral reefs.
Dr. Derek Manzello, the director of Coral Reef Watch, emphasized the significance of this widespread impact, noting that the situation is unprecedented.
“We are witnessing this pressure on coral reefs continuously,
image source from：https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/23/coral-reef-bleaching-worst-global-event-on-record
