A new report shows that the world's coral reefs are declining rapidly.
According to the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, coral reefs have declined by nearly 10 percent since 2020.
RELATED STORY | 84% of the world's coral reefs hit by worst bleaching event on record
There have been four global coral bleaching events recorded since 1998. This is the process in which stressed corals expel microscopic algae, turning completely white.
Each of these events has been associated with a 6.5 to 9.9% relative loss of global hard coral cover. Hard coral cover is used like a physical health check-up for the reef ecosystem.
According to the report, the largest one-year decline was in 2024, which 87 percent of all reefs impacted.
Experts say the issue is global warming as warm water kills the algae coral needs to survive.
RELATED STORY | El Niño is here and scientists fear it'll be big, bad and costly
While coral can recover from bleaching, its difficult if the water stays too hot for too long. According to the report, recovery intervals are shrinking from approximately 10 years to 5–6 years in many regions.
El Niño is expected to produce even warmer water in the coming year.
