El Niño could bring more widespread coral bleaching, NOAA warns
Summary
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned that El Niño could cause another global coral bleaching event this summer, just one year after the last one ended. Coral reefs, which support many marine animals, are at high risk of losing color and health due to warmer ocean temperatures caused by El Niño and climate change.Key Facts
- NOAA predicts a high risk of coral bleaching in the northern Pacific, including Hawaii, and possibly in Florida and the Caribbean during summer.
- This would be the fifth global coral bleaching event in recorded history.
- Coral bleaching happens when higher ocean temperatures stress corals, causing them to lose their color.
- The last global bleaching event affected 84% of the world’s reefs and ended around mid-2025.
- El Niño is linked with warmer ocean waters and has caused all strong global bleaching events since 1998.
- Scientists expect El Niño to arrive before fall 2026 but are not sure when or how strong it will be.
- Some coral reefs showed resilience and did not bleach during the last event despite the heat.
- NOAA is researching coral heat tolerance to help improve protection and restoration of reefs.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.