More than 90 percent of the Great Barrier Reef off Australia's northeast coast is affected by coral bleaching due to high sea temperatures. The trigger was a month-long heat wave on the Fifth Continent, according to a new report by the Marine Parks Authority (GBRMPA), which is subordinate to the government in Canberra. Aerial photographs had shown that of 719 reefs examined, 654 had at least partial coral bleaching.
The extremely hot weather has increased the sea water since December. The result: the corals that belong to the nettle animals are so stressed that they sell out the algae that they have to live with. They bleach.
Findings of Aerial Surveys Conducted in March by @Gbrmarinepark & @Aims_Gov_au are out now showing 91% of Surveyed Reefs in GbR Were Affected by #coral #Bleaching. 1st time this occurs under la niña (cool) conditions.#Climateaction is badly needed. pic.twitter.com/8htu1riwwa
"The investigations confirm a mass bleaching," the report says. Numerous reefs in all regions of the 2300-kilometer-long natural wonder, which stretches from Cape York to Bundaberg in tropical Queensland, are affected. This is already the fourth mass bleaching since 2016 and the sixth since 1998, the authority writes. However, she added: "It is important to note that bleached corals are stressed, but are still alive." When the water cools down, bleached corals could regain their color and survive. According to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, this takes 10 to 15 years at best. In view of the ongoing climate change, it seems questionable whether the extremely species-rich and precious ecosystem will be granted this time.
The UNESCO had threatened to put the reef on the red list as an endangered world heritage. At the government, it just missed the downgrading. It is not until 2023 to advise again. Prime Minister Scott Morrison presented a package of measures to protect the reef in January. Over nine years, a total of one billion Australian dollars (630 million euros) are to be invested in measures to maintain the ecosystem.
