🌍 World on the verge of a major coral bleaching event, warns NOAA

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a warning that the world is on the brink of a fourth mass coral bleaching event. This could result in a significant number of tropical reefs dying. The warning comes after months of record-breaking ocean heat, attributed to climate change and the El Niño climate pattern. Derek Manzello, the coordinator of NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch, stated that the entirety of the Southern Hemisphere is likely to experience bleaching this year. 🌡️

This year is predicted to surpass the last mass coral bleaching event that occurred between 2014 and 2017, which resulted in approximately 15% of the planet’s reefs experiencing significant coral die-offs. "We are literally sitting on the cusp of the worst bleaching event in the history of the planet," Manzello told Reuters. This follows a particularly hot summer last year, when Atlantic and Caribbean waters reached record-breaking levels, leading to the region's worst coral bleaching on record. 🌊

Current data indicates that Grand Cayman is at risk for a bleaching event through June. The threat to local reefs is further exacerbated by the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease, which has impacted all of the reefs around Grand Cayman. 🏝️