environment
El Niño Could Bring More Widespread Coral Bleaching, NOAA Warns
Updated on: June 3, 2026 / 12:12 PM EDT / CBS News
TL;DR
- El Niño's expected arrival could trigger a new mass coral bleaching event this summer.
- This would be the fifth global bleaching incident in recorded history.
- Reefs in the northern Pacific (including Hawaii), Florida, and the Caribbean are at high risk.
- Scientists link the increasing frequency of bleaching events to climate change and rising ocean temperatures.
- Defining the start and end of global bleaching events is becoming more challenging.
- The last global bleaching event impacted 84% of the world's reefs.
- Strong El Niño events since 1998 have coincided with global bleaching events.
- NOAA is studying heat tolerance in corals to improve restoration strategies.