Exclusive-World on brink of fourth mass coral reef bleaching event, NOAA says

FILE PHOTO: A healthy brain coral rests under Port of Miami regardless of extreme heat in Miami, Flordia, U.S., July 14, 2023. REUTERS/Maria Alejandra Cardona/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - The world is on the verge of a fourth mass coral bleaching event which could see wide swathes of tropical reefs die, including parts of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said.

Marine biologists are on high alert following months of record-breaking ocean heat fuelled by climate change and the El Nino climate pattern.