Weather & Science
Hottest Sea in Four Centuries Adds Threat to Great Barrier Reef
- Temperatures in the Coral Sea have seen fresh extremes
- Reef-related tourism generates estimated A$6.4 billion a year
A diver swimming amongst the coral on the Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of the Australian state of Queensland.
Photographer: Glenn Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images
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Australia’s Great Barrier Reef faces the risk of near-annual coral bleaching with temperatures in surrounding waters found to have reached the highest in at least 400 years.
The Coral Sea has seen relentless extreme heat in recent years, with peaks this year and in 2017 and 2020 assessed to have been the warmest in at least four centuries, researchers from several Australian universities said in a study published Thursday.