[1/4] This is the first time the reef has bleached under the cooling conditions of the natural La Nina weather pattern, which shows just how strong the long-term warming trend of climate change is. Despite the cooling conditions, 2021 was one of the hottest years on record. [2/4] Coral bleaching indicates that corals are under intense stress from the waters around them, which have been growing steadily warmer. Last year, scientists recorded the hottest year on record for the world’s oceans — for the sixth year in a row.

We Are Changing Climate Faster Than We Can Adapt, New IPCC Report Warns.

Climate change is not a future abstract threat, per the new report, and is already harming communities and ecosystems around the world. In 2019, extreme weather like storms and floods displaced more than 13 million people across Asia and Africa. Heat and drought are threatening the food and water supply for millions of people, and rising sea levels are encroaching on coastal communities.