Yaneris M. Soto Muñiz

As record coral bleaching swept across the Caribbean over the past two years, scientists raced to save reefs with tools ranging from multivitamins and artificial intelligence to underwater speakers. But their efforts, they warn, remain underfunded — and increasingly overwhelmed by the scale of the coral crisis.

A historic coral bleaching event has swept across the Caribbean over the past two years, threatening the ecosystems that feed, protect, and sustain life across the region. This investigation, reported from six countries and territories, reveals the scale of the damage —and the human costs mounting beneath the surface.