Publication Date April 9, 2016 | The New York Times

Climate-related death of coral around world alarms scientists

Australia
Photo: XL Catlin Seaview Survey
Photo: XL Catlin Seaview Survey

The damage off Kiritimati is part of a mass bleaching of coral reefs around the world, only the third on record and possibly the worst ever. Scientists believe that heat stress from multiple weather events including the latest, severe El Niño, compounded by climate change, has threatened more than a third of Earth’s coral reefs. Many may not recover