Corals expel the tiny algae called zooxanthellae that live in their tissues, which happens when ocean temperatures stay about 1°C above the usual summer maximum for several weeks. NOAA forecasts bleaching using satellite data to track sea surface temperatures and alert levels through their Coral Reef Watch program. But my life at the salon tells me the real damage is in the slow, unnoticed stress—like how a client's hair breaks not in one bad perm, but from daily heat and worry. We see the big bleaching events, but the reef's health fades quietly long before, just like the glow in a mother's eyes after too many long days.
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