Worrying footage has emerged from the Coral Triangle of a large amount of bleached coral.

The video, shot in July, displays many coral gone white due to warm weather prompting "coral bleaching".

"Warmer water temperatures than average stress corals and their symbiotic algae"

"If water temperatures stay higher than usual for many weeks, the zooxanthellae corals depend on for most of their nutrients leave the coral tissue" she continued.

Without these zooxanthellae, that also give corals their colors, corals turn white. Bleached corals slowly starve and are less able to combat disease"

"When the water temperatures cool down within a few weeks, corals can re-absorb new algae and recover from the bleaching event"

"But if the water stays warm for too long, the coral polyps die and the coral reefs break apart".

Coral Bleaching in the Coral Triangle documented on a couple of days in July 2016. Various stages of bleaching after the extreme weather phenomenon El Niño 2015/2016.
Warmer water temperatures than average stress corals and their symbiotic algae. If water temperatures stay higher than usual for many weeks, the zooxanthellae corals depend on for most of their nutrients leave the coral tissue. Without these zooxanthellae, that also give corals their colors, corals turn white. Bleached corals slowly starve and are less able to combat disease.
When the water temperatures cool down within a few weeks, corals can re-absorb new algae and recover from the bleaching event. But if the water stays warm for too long, the coral polyps die and the coral reefs break apart.