Highlights
- Rising temperatures, acidification, sea level rise and storms are accelerating coral bleaching and reef weakening worldwide.
- Review of 220 studies from 1996–2025 reveals major biodiversity loss and high risk of reef collapse under warming.
- The 2023–2025 global bleaching event impacted about 84 percent of reefs, the most severe on record.
- Coral gardening, larval restoration, assisted evolution and connected marine protected areas boost reef resilience.
- Emission cuts combined with local conservation, community stewardship and adaptive management are vital for reef survival.
Abstract
Coral reefs are one of the ecosystems that are most affected by climate change, but they also support biodiversity, coastal stability, fisheries, and tourism around the world. This review uses a structured narrative literature review based on PRISMA protocols to put together evidence from 220 peer-reviewed articles (1996 to 2025) to see how warming seas, ocean acidification, rising sea levels, and stronger storms change coral ecology, structure, and ecosystem functioning. The results indicate that heightened thermal stress is the principal catalyst of mass bleaching and mortality, occurring with greater frequency and at larger spatial scales, whereas ongoing acidification persists in diminishing calcification, skeletal density, and recruitment success. The rise in sea level and damage caused by storms make habitat loss happen even faster, make reefs less complex, and make communities of reef-associated species less stable. Even though things are going this way, new interventions like coral gardening, larval propagation, assisted evolution, marine protected areas, and community-led co-management show promise for making things more resilient in the face of future climate change. The review emphasizes the necessity of immediate global carbon reduction in conjunction with customized conservation and restoration strategies at the local level. If no strong action is taken, coral reefs may not last long, and the economic security they provide may also go down.
Bhuyan M. S., Jenzri M., Islam M. T., Adikari D. & Hoque M. M., 2026. Climate change impacts on coral reefs and emerging resilience pathways: a systematic review. Ocean & Coastal Management 276: 108134. doi: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2026.108134. Article (restricted access).
