Australia’s Great Barrier Reef ‘in grave danger’ from ‘marine heatwave’
- Scientists are warning of devastating coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef if the water does not cool down in the coming weeks
- Bleached corals are still alive and can recover, however, extremely warm seawater makes them susceptible to diseases that can kill them

According to the local non-governmental organisation Climate Council, new underwater images show the full extent of the disaster. An area 1,100 kilometres long from Lizard Island to the Keppel Islands has already been affected, the Australian news agency AAP reported on Tuesday.
According to experts, the trigger is a recent marine heatwave in the region.
Diana Kleine, a project manager for the environmental monitoring group CoralWatch, has been visiting the Heron Island research station in the southern part of the Barrier Reef for 25 years and says it is the worst bleaching event she has seen.
“Heron Island has luckily escaped several bleaching events in the last couple of years, but the way it is looking now is just devastating,” she told AAP.
The island lies around 460 kilometres north of Brisbane, in the area affected by the current bleaching event.