With water temperatures climbing to unprecedented heights, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has added new levels to its alert system to account for increasingly severe coral bleaching and higher mortality rates. Three more alert levels have been added to the coral reef alert system. Prior to the expansion, NOAA’s coral bleaching alert maps consisted of five levels ranging from “No Stress” to “Bleaching Alert Level 2,” which indicated widespread bleaching and death in the reefs. The foundation has recorded seven mass bleaching events between 1998 and 2022 due to rising ocean temperatures. In 2023, global ocean temperatures reached nine consecutive months of record warmth, according to the climate report.

Source: CNN February 10, 2024 08:15 UTC