Australia's great barrier reef suffers record coral decline following mass bleaching

FILE PHOTO: This photo taken on April 5, 2024, shows marine biologist Anne Hoggett inspecting and recording bleached and dead coral around Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, located 270 kilometres north of the city of Cairns. Australia's famed Great Barrier Reef has suffered its most widespread coral bleaching on record, according to a government report released on August 6, 2025, that warns the natural wonder is in dire health. - AFP

CANBERRA: Australia's Great Barrier Reef has suffered the largest decline in coral cover in two of its three regions over the last year, research released on Wednesday (Aug 6) showed, following a mass bleaching of its corals that was among the worst on record.

The Australian Institute of Marine Sciences said the reef has experienced the largest annual decline in coral cover in its northern and southern regions since monitoring began 39 years ago, with coral cover dropping between a quarter and a third after several years of solid growth.