July ended with the hottest recorded average temperature since people have been making daily readings. With the warming, climate change is ensured. A huge chunk of Greenland has melted, Arctic seas have opened, and the diversity of life on Earth may be threatened.
Now, the effects are spreading across the Hawaiian Islands, with some of the most diverse and abundant life under peril due to a massive coral bleaching event underway.
According to NOAA scientist Jamison Gove, "Ocean temperatures are extremely warm right now across Hawaii, about 3°F warmer than what we typically experience in mid-August. If the ocean continues to warm even further as projected, we are likely to witness severe and widespread coral bleaching across the islands."
This event is coming a mere four years after the unprecedented bleaching events of 2014 and 2015. Just as the Hawaiian coral reefs were showing remarkable resiliency and making a recovery, they are faced with yet another event.
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