Global coral reef coverage risks irreversible decline, new report warns

Coral reefs make up just 1 percent of ocean coverage, but host a quarter of all life in the sea.Published On 31 Aug 202631 Aug 2026Coral reefs are experiencing bleaching events so frequently that they no longer have time to recover before the next one strikes, scientists have warned.Global coral cover is now well below ⁠normal levels and at risk of irreversible decline, the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) said in a report released on Monday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3World ‘very likely’ to exceed 1.5C climate goal in next decade: UNlist 2 of 3World’s oceans experience hottest June ever, scientists say more heat aheadlist 3 of 3Global ocean temperatures hit record high as El Nino intensifiesend of list“If we give them enough time, they ‌have the capacity to recover,” lead author Manuel Gonzalez Rivero said. “But we haven’t seen that amount of time being allowed. In fact, the frequency of those bleaching events has pretty much doubled.”Bleaching occurs when corals expel the colourful algae living in their tissues. Without this algae, they become vulnerable to starvation and disease. Bleached coral are not dead, but they need time in cooler water to rec...