Getty ImagesAccording to a new report, a portion of the huge barrier reef suffered the largest annual decline in coral cover, starting with a record nearly 40 years ago.
The northern and southern branches of the vast Australian reef are subject to the widest range of coral bleaching. Australian Institute of Marine Sciences (AIMS) Established.
Aims said the reefs have suffered from tropical cyclones and the thorn crown that feasted on corals in recent months, but climate change-driven heat stress is the main reason.
The goal warns that the habitat may reach a turning point, in between catastrophic events, where corals cannot recover fast enough and face a “volatile” future.
AIMS surveyed the health of 124 coral reefs between August 2024 and May 2025. It has been conducting investigations since 1986.
Commonly known as the largest living structure in the world, the Great Barrier Reef is a 2300 km (1,429 miles) tropical coral that can accommodate stunning biodiversity. Repeated bleaching events turned into the once vibrant coral white.
Corals are crucial to the earth. Nicknamed the Ocean Architect, it built a massive structure that houses an estimated 25% of all marine species.
When the coral is pressured and whitened, bleaching occurs because the water it lives in is too hot.
Getty ImagesIf the stressed coral experiences a temperature of 1C (1.8F) at a thermal limit of 1C (1.8F) within two months, it may die. If the water is 2c high, it can survive for about a month.
Triggers unusually warm tropical waters Extensive coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in 2024 This is the sixth event since 2016 in the first few months of 2025.
and climate change, Natural weather patterns like children It can also play a role in large-scale bleaching events.
The report found that the reef “experienced unprecedented levels of heat stress, which led to the most extensive and severe bleaching recorded to date.”
Any recovery could take years and depend on future coral reproduction and minimal environmental disturbance, the report said.
Among the latest purpose survey results, the most affected coral species is Acropora, which is susceptible to heat stress and thorns-crown-favorite foods.
“These corals are the fastest growing and are the first to go,” Dr. Mike Emslie, head of AIMS research, told ABC News.
He said: “The Great Barrier Reef is such a beautiful, iconic place that it is really worth fighting for.
The Australian government’s Thorns Crown Starfish Removal Program has had some success, which killed more than 50,000 starfish by injecting vinegar or beef bile.
“The Thorn bone coronal starfish recorded on the Central GBR reef in 2025 has no potential, established or severe outbreaks, due to control activities of the Thron bone coronal starfish.”
These organisms are native to the Great Barrier Reef and are able to eat a lot of coral. But their numbers have increased significantly since the 1960s, and nutrition from land-based agricultural runoff is considered the most likely cause.
Richard Leck of the global environmental charity WWF said the report shows that reefs are “an ecosystem under incredible pressure” and scientists are worried about what happens when “reefs do not continue to bounce in their way,” he told the news agency AFP.
Lake said some coral reefs around the world are no longer recoverable, warning that huge barrier reefs may suffer the same fate without the need for ambitious, rapid climate action.
The Great Barrier Reef has been listed in heritage for more than 40 years, but UNESCO warns that Australian idols are at “danger” in warming oceans and pollution.
