Coral bleachings devastate Bali reefs as sea temperatures rise

FILE PHOTO: Fish swim near recovering coral reefs after bleaching in late December 2023 due to extreme weather, in Bondalem village, Buleleng regency, Bali, Indonesia, June 20, 2024. REUTERS/Yuddy Cahya Budiman/File Photo

BONDALEM, Indonesia (Reuters) - Indonesian conservationist Nyoman Sugiarto has been working for 16 years to preserve coral on the reefs of Bali, but the frequency of mass coral bleachings he says is now devastating.

Ninety percent of the corals Sugiarto had nurtured on the reefs near his village in Bondalem, in northern shore of Bali, lost their colour last December.