Heat Stress Is Hitting Caribbean Reefs Earlier Than Ever This Year

As the world’s coral reefs suffer a fourth global bleaching event, heat stress in the Caribbean is accumulating even earlier than it did in 2023, the previous record year for the region, according to data made public on Thursday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.“I hate that I have to keep using that word ‘unprecedented,’ said Derek Manzello, coordinator of the agency’s Coral Reef Watch…