The Great Barrier Reef faced its largest annual decline in live coral, according to the Australian Institute of Marine Science. A mass coral bleaching event in early 2024 due to unprecedented heat stress resulted in significant coral mortality, with northern and southern regions losing between one-quarter and one-third of coral cover. Monitoring shows the most extensive bleaching recorded, driven by record-high ocean temperatures. Increased volatility in hard coral cover indicates an ecosystem under stress primarily due to climate change, although the reef remains valuable and still has remarkable qualities.
The Great Barrier Reef experienced unprecedented levels of heat stress, which caused the most spatially extensive and severe bleaching recorded to date. Coral cover dropped by between one-quarter and one-third after several years of steady growth.
We are now seeing increased volatility in the levels of hard coral cover. This is a phenomenon that emerged over the last 15 years and points to an ecosystem under stress.
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