The large reef barrier undergoes the worst drop in coral never recorded

Some parts of the Grande Barrier de Corail underwent the highest annual decrease in coral coverage since the files began almost 40 years ago, according to a new report.

The branches of northern and southern sprawling Australian reef both underwent their most widespread coral whitening, found the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS).

The reefs have been beaten in recent months by tropical cyclones and stars of stars of thorns of thorns which feast on coral, but the thermal stress caused by climate change is the predominant reason, the objectives said.

The objectives warn that the habitat can reach a tilting point where coral cannot recover quickly between catastrophic events and faces a “volatile” future.

AIMS questioned the health of 124 coral reefs between August 2024 and May 2025. He has carried out investigations since 1986.

Often nicknamed the largest life structure in the world, the large barrier barrier is an extent of 2,300 km (1,429 miles) of tropical corals which houses a superb range of biodiversity. Repeated whitening events run large expanses of coral white formerly vibrant.

Coral is vital for the planet. Nicknamed the architect of the sea, it builds large structures which house approximately 25% of all marine species.

Whitening occurs when the coral is stressed and becomes white because the water in which it lives is too hot.

The stressed coral will probably die if it undergoes 1C (1.8F) temperatures above its thermal limit for two months. If the waters are 2C higher, it can survive about a month.

Unusually hot tropical waters have triggered generalized coral laundering on the large barrier barrier in 2024 and in the first months of 2025, the sixth event of this type since 2016.

In addition to climate change, natural weather conditions like El Niño can also play a role in mass laundering events.

The reef has “experienced unprecedented thermal stress levels, which has caused the most spatially extensive and severe whitening recorded to date”, according to the report.

Any recovery could take years and depended on the future reproduction of corals and minimum environmental disturbances, according to the report.

In the latest results of the AIMS survey, the most affected coral species were Acropora, which are sensitive to thermal stress and a favored food of the seas of seas.

“These corals are the fastest to cultivate and are the first to leave,” said Dr. Mike Emslie, led by research, Dr. Mike Emslie.

“The Grande Barrier Reef is such a beautiful and emblematic place, it is really worth, really bothering to fight. And if we can give it a chance, it has shown an inherent ability to recover,” he said.

There was some success with the program of stars of stars of crown of the Australian government, which killed more than 50,000 starfish by injecting them with vinegar or oxide bile.

“Due to the control activities of the crown star, there was no potential epidemic, established or severe of the crown of the crown of the groups recorded on the central GBR reefs in 2025,” noted the AIMS report.

Creatures are from the great barrier reef and are able to eat large amounts of coral. But since the 1960s, their number has increased significantly, the nutrients of earthly agricultural runoff considered to be the most likely cause.

Richard Leck of the World C charitable WWF has said that the report shows that the reef is an “ecosystem under incredible stress” and that scientists are concerned about what is happening when “the reef does not continue to rebound as it did,” he told the AFP news agency.

Leck said that certain coral reefs around the world are already beyond recovery, warning that the great reef barrier could be the same fate without ambitious and rapid climate action.

The big coral barrier has been classified by heritage for over 40 years, but UNESCO warns that the Australian icon is “in danger” to warm seas and pollution.