Great Barrier Reef Damage

The Great Barrier Reef, one of Earth's most significant natural treasures, is currently experiencing its hottest sea surface temperatures in four centuries. According to a study published in Nature, the first quarter of 2024 recorded a temperature rise of 0.19°C above the previous peak. This extreme warming is directly linked to extensive coral bl...

A prolonged summer heatwave in Australia left 91 per cent of the Great Barrier Reef's coral damaged by bleaching, according to a new government monitoring report.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef is suffering a "mass bleaching event" as coral comes under heat stress from warmer seas, authorities said Friday.

After years of climate-worsened damage to its vibrant corals, Australia's vast Great Barrier Reef could this week be added to UNESCO's list of endangered World Heritage sites.

Mass coral bleaching on Australia's Great Barrier Reef could cost the region more than a million tourists a year and up to Aus$1.0 billion (US$760 million) in lost revenue, a study warned Wednesday.

A cyclone that left a trail of destruction in northeast Australia and New Zealand has also damaged one of the few healthy sections of the Great Barrier Reef to have escaped large-scale bleaching, scientists said on Monday.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef may never recover from last year's warming-driven coral bleaching, said a study Wednesday that called for urgent action in the face of ineffective conservation efforts.

The Australian government says it has reached a 39.3 million Australian dollar ($29.6 million) settlement with the owners of a Chinese coal carrier to pay for environmental damage caused when the ship ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef six year ago.

"Australia's precious Great Barrier Reef is already in poor health, and Indian coal company Adani's controversial port project, which will cause irreparable damage, has raised significant concern in our community," Sandra Williams said.

Australia's Department of the Environment said on Friday it had omitted its contribution to a UN report examining the impact of climate change on world heritage sites over concern it could create "confusion" and have a negative impact on tourism.

Australian scientists said today that just seven percent of the Great Barrier Reef, which attracts around a $5 billion ($3.90 billion) in tourism every year, has been untouched by mass bleaching that is likely to destroy half the coral.

Coral bleaching has been detected in Sydney Harbour for the first time, Australian scientists said today, blaming the damaging phenomenon also found in the Great Barrier Reef on warming sea-surface temperatures.

Australian scientists managing the Great Barrier Reef have lifted their emergency response to the highest level following the publication of video footage of damage caused by coral bleaching.

Australia approved on Tuesday a controversial expansion of the Abbot Point coal terminal, which environmentalists fear will damage the Great Barrier Reef but supporters say is needed to protect the sector from decline.

Scientists today warned the world faced mass global coral bleaching next year driven by the warming effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon, and it could be the worst on record.

The Great Barrier Reef, one of Earth's most significant natural treasures, is currently experiencing its hottest sea surface temperatures in four centuries. According to a study published in Nature, the first quarter of 2024 recorded a temperature rise of 0.19°C above the previous peak. This extreme warming is directly linked to extensive coral bl...

A prolonged summer heatwave in Australia left 91 per cent of the Great Barrier Reef's coral damaged by bleaching, according to a new government monitoring report.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef is suffering a "mass bleaching event" as coral comes under heat stress from warmer seas, authorities said Friday.

After years of climate-worsened damage to its vibrant corals, Australia's vast Great Barrier Reef could this week be added to UNESCO's list of endangered World Heritage sites.

Mass coral bleaching on Australia's Great Barrier Reef could cost the region more than a million tourists a year and up to Aus$1.0 billion (US$760 million) in lost revenue, a study warned Wednesday.

A cyclone that left a trail of destruction in northeast Australia and New Zealand has also damaged one of the few healthy sections of the Great Barrier Reef to have escaped large-scale bleaching, scientists said on Monday.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef may never recover from last year's warming-driven coral bleaching, said a study Wednesday that called for urgent action in the face of ineffective conservation efforts.

The Australian government says it has reached a 39.3 million Australian dollar ($29.6 million) settlement with the owners of a Chinese coal carrier to pay for environmental damage caused when the ship ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef six year ago.

"Australia's precious Great Barrier Reef is already in poor health, and Indian coal company Adani's controversial port project, which will cause irreparable damage, has raised significant concern in our community," Sandra Williams said.

Australia's Department of the Environment said on Friday it had omitted its contribution to a UN report examining the impact of climate change on world heritage sites over concern it could create "confusion" and have a negative impact on tourism.

Australian scientists said today that just seven percent of the Great Barrier Reef, which attracts around a $5 billion ($3.90 billion) in tourism every year, has been untouched by mass bleaching that is likely to destroy half the coral.

Coral bleaching has been detected in Sydney Harbour for the first time, Australian scientists said today, blaming the damaging phenomenon also found in the Great Barrier Reef on warming sea-surface temperatures.

Australian scientists managing the Great Barrier Reef have lifted their emergency response to the highest level following the publication of video footage of damage caused by coral bleaching.

Australia approved on Tuesday a controversial expansion of the Abbot Point coal terminal, which environmentalists fear will damage the Great Barrier Reef but supporters say is needed to protect the sector from decline.

Scientists today warned the world faced mass global coral bleaching next year driven by the warming effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon, and it could be the worst on record.