84% of World's Corals Impacted by Heat Stress — Scientists

Bleaching-level heat stress has impacted 84 percent of the world's coral reefs, with scientists noting that the Philippines is among 82 countries and economies severely affected.

- BELLA CARIASO

The Philippines has one of the richest coral reef systems on Earth, according to experts.

The study showed that since last January, bleaching events have been rapidly getting worse due to human-induced climate change, which threatens the existence of live coral reefs.

According to the latest report, the first bleaching event in 1998 saw 21 percent of reef areas affected. In 2010 this rose to 37 percent and went up to 68 percent from 2014 to 2017.

Scientists said corals bleach when water temperatures are too high, but if water temperatures return to normal, they can recover. If water temperatures stay too hot for too long, corals will die.

In 2023, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration added three new levels to their bleaching alert scale to indicate the heightened risk of mass coral mortality.