Reef suffers third mass coral bleaching
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Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has suffered its third mass bleaching event in just five years. Warmer sea temperatures in recent months are feared to have caused huge coral loss
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GREAT BARRIER REEF: World’s largest reef system covers over 2,300km. World Heritage site is recognised for its “enormous scientific and intrinsic importance”

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AUSTRALIA

PREVIOUS BLEACHING (2016 and 2017)

Most severe bleaching

No or negligible bleaching

2019-20: Central and southern regions more badly affected than in 2016 and 2017 events

AUSTRALIA

In 2019, Australia downgraded reef’s five-year outlook from poor to very poor, due to impact of human-induced climate change
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WHAT IS BLEACHING

1 Healthy coral: Algae (zooxanthellae) lives in coral tissue, providing primary food and colour

2 Stressed coral: Symbiotic relationship becomes stressed due to increase in water temperature or pollution – coral polyps expel algae from tissue

3 Bleached coral: Without algae, coral turns white and loses main source of food
100km 62 miles

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© GRAPHIC NEWS
Sources: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, NOAA