Owing to global warming and El Nino, a rise has been witnessed in the bleaching of colorful coral, which is gradually becoming a widespread crisis. Owing to these two activities, ocean water remains quite hot making sensitive coral to go white and then it often die.

The bleaching for the first time was witnessed in Human more than a year ago and then it devastated Hawaii. The Bleaching has infected the rest of the tropical Pacific and the Indian oceans and more recently, it has infested Florida and the Caribbean.

Though there is no place with coral that has not been hit by bleaching, there are some regions like Hawaii that have been hit harder than others. NOAA coral reef watch coordinator Mark Eakin said that due to excessive heat the living coral turns while and then they become vulnerable to disease.

Eakin raised concerns by unveiling that range of 10 to 20% of the coral reefs could be lost this year. Owing to the pattern of warming, the US is being hit disproportionately. He has termed bleaching a crisis.

Bleaching takes place due to warm water and ocean temperatures have increased alarmingly because of steady manmade global warming and also due to the El Nino, which is an occasional warming of the central Pacific that changes weather worldwide.

Experts said that the last super El Nino happened in 1997-98 was the first global bleaching event and the second one in 2009-10 was the second.

"We may be looking at losing somewhere in the range of 10 to 20 percent of the coral reefs this year," NOAA coral reef watch coordinator Mark Eakin said. "The bad news for the U.S. is we're getting hit disproportionately just because of the pattern of the warming."

"Hawaii is getting hit with the worst coral bleaching they have ever seen, right now," Eakin said. "It's severe. It's extensive. And it's on all the islands."