International marine scientists say the worst coral bleaching in more than a decade has struck reefs across the South-East Asian and Indian oceans in recent months.
They say that the coral death could be the most damaging bleaching event ever recorded.
It has hit the area known as the Coral Triangle, which has more than 500 coral species making it the richest marine biodiversity zone on the planet.
But over the past six months, there have been some significant changes.
Andrew Baird, from the ARC Centre for Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, says the bleaching is far-reaching.
"A lot of reports have come in from the Andaman Sea - so Thailand down [to] Singapore, Malaysia - the scale is huge," he said.
"It probably extends from the Western Indian Ocean, right across into the Coral Triangle and also there's bleaching in the Philippines and it's starting to get hot in the Pacific.
"So it looks like this event will be as big as the last global bleaching event which was 1998."
Dr Baird has been working in Aceh on the boundary of the Coral Triangle. He says the impact there has been severe.
"What we've seen there is a bleaching event that was caused by hot water back in May and what we've documented is about 80 per cent of the Acropora, which is typically the most predominant coral species... are dead," he said.
Coral bleaching event 'worst since 1998' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Oh boy are these the same "experts" who claimed the Maldives would be under water by now? Why yes they are! With a track record like that we have nothing to be concerned about.
Who claimed the Maldives would be under water by now? Once again, you just seem to be making things up. Because you believe AGW proponents are doing it, do you feel that gives you the green light to do the same?
Once again you reveal either your extraordinary willful ignorance or complete lack of honesty, I will let you choose which one it is.
Why the Maldives aren't sinking | The Spectator
American Thinker: Sinking Islands or Stinking Islands?
Despite popular opinion and calls to action, the Maldives are not being overrun by sea level rise | Watts Up With That?
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8jOENwyklg[/ame]
Maldives? president all wet on sea level - FP Comment
I can go on and on and on. If you type maldives into any search engine you will find the typical alarmist claptrap warning about the impending doom of the Maldives. It just simply is not true, even though a whole host of "experts" will tell you it is so so they can take your money away from you.