--- title: Coral Reefs Bleaching Crisis Expected to Continue, NOAA Says description: The two-year devastation of coral reefs is unlikely to stop anytime soon as high ocean temperatures continue to disrupt coral ecosystems canonical: https://time.com/4375553/coral-reefs-bleaching-climate-change/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-20T22:10:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T22:43:35.966Z article:section: Science og:title: The worst coral bleaching event ever is going to get worse og:description: The two-year devastation of coral reefs is unlikely to stop anytime soon as high ocean temperatures continue to disrupt coral ecosystems og:url: https://time.com/4375553/coral-reefs-bleaching-climate-change/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6cba0a991d438a61/698898b0524fc0694ddf8721/coral-reef-bleaching.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2127 og:image:height: 1196 og:image:alt: coral reef bleaching og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The worst coral bleaching event ever is going to get worse twitter:description: The two-year devastation of coral reefs is unlikely to stop anytime soon as high ocean temperatures continue to disrupt coral ecosystems twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6cba0a991d438a61/698898b0524fc0694ddf8721/coral-reef-bleaching.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The World Is Experiencing the Worst Coral Bleaching Ever. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jun 20, 2016 10:10 PM UTC  Coral bleaching is the loss of intracellular endosymbionts (Symbiodinium, also known as zooxanthellae) through either expulsion or loss of algal pigmentation. Coral bleaching is the loss of intracellular endosymbionts (Symbiodinium, also known as zooxanthellae) through either expulsion or loss of algal pigmentation. Danita Delimont—Getty Images/Gallo Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jun 20, 2016 10:10 PM UTC Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported on Monday that the [mass injury of coral](http://time.com/4292505/great-barrier-reef-climate-change/)—known as bleaching—has now covered a [larger area](http://time.com/4300444/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching-climate-change/) than any previous [bleaching event](http://time.com/4292505/great-barrier-reef-climate-change/). And there’s little chance the stress will end soon—the report shows a 90% chance of [continued bleaching](http://time.com/4080985/sunscreen-coral-reefs/) in many parts of the Pacific Ocean, as well as in areas off the coast of the U.S., thanks to high ocean temperatures that are [disrupting coal ecosystems](http://time.com/48001/the-last-coral-reefs/). The ongoing bleaching event—the longest in recorded history —began in 2014 and has killed more than a third of coral in some locations. This is the “most widespread, largest bleaching event ever to occur globally,” said Mark Eakin, a NOAA coral reef scientist, at a conference on coral reefs in Hawaii. “If you think of corals as canaries \[in a coal mine\], they’re chirping really loudly right now,” said Jennifer Koss, NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program director, at a press conference. “The ones that are still alive, that is.” **Read More:** [How Sunscreen Is Helping Destroy Coral Reefs](http://time.com/4080985/sunscreen-coral-reefs/) Bleaching occurs when [disruption](http://time.com/4313908/coral-reef-global-warming-climate-change-miami/) to coral ecosystems like pollution and unusually warm water cause the symbiotic organisms that give coral their color to flee. Some coral recover from bleaching events—so called because they leave the coral reef bone white—but others die. A recent [survey](http://May 29, 2016 11:23 PM http://time.com/4351647/warm-oceans-kill-great-barrier-reef-coral-australia/) found that as much as 35% of coral died in some regions of the Great Barrier Reef during the current bleaching event, though NOAA researchers said Monday that it is too early for a full global assessment of how much coral has died. Coral experts fear that continued climate change may cause more frequent and devastating bleaching events as temperatures rise in the coming years and decades. That would be devastating for marine ecosystems that directly depend on healthy coral reefs. **Read More:** [Warm Temperatures Aren’t the Only Thing Killing the World’s Coral Reefs](http://time.com/4313908/coral-reef-global-warming-climate-change-miami/) The El Niño climate phenomenon, characterized by unusually high ocean waters in the equatorial Pacific, exacerbated coral bleaching during this past fall, winter and spring. NOAA researchers say reefs will get little respite as La Niña takes the place of El Niño later this year. [La Niña](http://time.com/4346382/el-nino-la-nina-weather-drought/) brings high ocean temperatures to the Western Pacific along with a slew of other weather impacts. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4375553/coral-reefs-bleaching-climate-change/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4375553/coral-reefs-bleaching-climate-change/"},"headline":"The World Is Experiencing the Worst Coral Bleaching Ever. 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