Australia's Great Barrier Reef Suffers 5th Mass Bleaching Event in 8 Years

Australia's Great Barrier Reef suffered another mass bleaching event, marking the fifth in the last eight years, that reef managers confirmed on Friday.

Experts said the destructive event is caused by rising ocean temperatures caused by the global climate crisis and exacerbated by El Niño. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Australian Institute of Marine Science conducted aerial surveys covering two-thirds of the marine park.

Great Barrier Reef Bleaching Event

Australia's Great Barrier Reef is experiencing another mass bleaching event, the fifth in the last eight years, amid rising ocean temperatures.
(Photo: GLENN NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

They confirmed that a "widespread, often called mass, coral bleaching event is unfolding across the Great Barrier Reef." The reef's managers said that the latest incident follows similar reports from coral reefs around the world in the past 12 months.

The Great Barrier Reef covers nearly 133,000 square miles and is the largest coral reef in the world. It is also home to more than 1,500 species of fish and 411 species of hard corals.

The Great Barrier Reef contributes billions of dollars to the Australian economy every year and is heavily promoted to foreign tourists as one of Australia's and the world's greatest natural wonders.

However, rising ocean temperatures are fueling destructive bleaching of the reef. This comes as the world continues to burn planet-warming fossil fuels. Additionally, ocean temperatures are becoming even warmer under the current El Niño, a natural climate pattern that brings warmer-than-average sea-surface temperatures.

In a video statement, Australia's Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, said climate change is seen as the biggest risk to the Great Barrier Reef and other coral reefs worldwide.

She added that they are aware of the need to give the Great Barrier Reef the best chance of survival for the planet and animals that call it their home. This would also affect the 64,000 people whose livelihoods depend on reef tourism.

Researchers and scientists expressed their devastation after hearing the news of the mass bleaching event. The chief scientist at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Dr. Roger Beeden, said that in-water surveys would help them understand the severity of the destructive event, said The Guardian.

Rising Ocean Temperatures

Worldwide ocean temperatures have been the highest on record for nearly a year. The United States government also said the planet is on the cusp of a fourth global coral bleaching event. These would include the reefs in the Atlantic, Pacific, and potentially the Indian Ocean.

Beeden noted that it is still too early to say exactly what the full consequences of the latest mass bleaching event will be. He said that if the conditions are cool, much of what has bleached could recover.

He added that over the past decade, the Great Barrier Reef has rebuilt itself from other mass bleaching events, severe tropical cyclones, as well as outbreaks of crown-of-thorn starfish. The Australian reef has been heritage-listed for more than four decades because of its "enormous" importance.

However, UNESCO said that the icon is currently under "serious threat" from warming seas and pollution. Australian governments have continued to fight to prevent the body from declaring the coral reef "in danger," according to the BBC.