PARIS, France, Feb 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A study published on Tuesday showedthat more than half of the world's coral reefs were bleached between 2014-2017 -- a record-setting episode now being eclipsed by another series ofdevastating heatwaves. The analysis concluded that 51 percent of the world's reefs endured moderateor worse bleaching while 15 percent experienced significant mortality overthe three-year period known as the "Third Global Bleaching Event". It was "by far the most severe and widespread coral bleaching event onrecord", said Sean Connolly, one the study's authors and a senior scientistat the Panama-based Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. "2014-17 was the first record of a global coral bleaching event lasting muchbeyond a single year," the study said. "We are only just beginning to analyse bleaching and mortality observationsfrom the current bleaching event," Connolly told AFP.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha February 10, 2026 10:56 UTC