Seascape footage with fish swimming over bleached hard corals

Reefs in Crisis: Bleached Coral Footage.

This underwater video footage shows a coral reef where bleached hard corals dominate the scene, their white and yellow hues standing out sharply. Amidst these, clusters of vibrant red and pink corals add a splash of color, highlighting areas of resilience. The corals vary in shape, from smooth mounds to branching formations. A few small, dark-colored fish swim leisurely over the reef, moving between the corals. In the background, the coral extends further, showing both bleached and healthier patches. The clear blue water provides excellent visibility in the shot, revealing the contrast between the stressed and thriving parts of the reef.

Seascape with Bleached Hard Corals — Powerful Climate Change Free Footage.

Filmed in high-definition 4K (2160p) and HD (1080p) resolutions, this professional-grade, free stock footage is available in landscape mode (16:9 aspect ratio) for widescreen use and vertical mode (9:16 aspect ratio) for mobile-friendly platforms such as Instagram Reels, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. Its quality and adaptability make it an ideal choice for NGOs, environmental campaigns, and educational projects focusing on the health of our oceans.

Coral reefs are highly sensitive to even slight changes in water temperature, making them among the most vulnerable ecosystems to climate change. Corals live in a narrow temperature range and rely on symbiotic algae, known as zooxanthellae, which reside within their tissues and provide essential nutrients through photosynthesis. When ocean temperatures rise by even 1–2°C above normal levels, this delicate relationship is disrupted. The corals experience stress and, in response, expel the zooxanthellae. This loss strips corals of both their vibrant colors and their main energy source, leaving them weakened and more susceptible to disease and death if the warmer conditions persist.