The Great Barrier Reef is looking a little worse for wear these days. Okay, a lot worse for wear. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has raised its coral bleaching threat level to level three – which means that widespread, severe regional bleaching has been detected.
It was serious enough that Environment Minister Greg Hunt flew up on Sunday to check out some of the worst-affected areas north of Cairns. Hunt tried to talk the damage down as a problem mostly for areas around Lizard Island.
“The reef is 2,300 kilometres long and the bottom three-quarters is in strong condition, but as we head north, it becomes increasingly prone to bleaching,” he told ABC News.
They only put the threat level up to level two one week ago, when divers detected bleaching damage in areas around Australia‘s far north which exceeded expected levels. The damage is caused by high sea surface temperatures – a problem obviously exacerbated by climate change.
Source: ABC News.
Image: Getty Images / Tanya Ann Photography.
