Highest ocean heat in four centuries places Great Barrier Reef in danger

Recent ocean heat extremes in the Coral Sea, including the warmest January–March periods on record (2017, 2020, and 2024), exceed the 95th-percentile limit of pre-1900 maximum temperatures over a 400-year span. These events, driven by human-induced climate change, have caused unprecedented mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Climate models confirm that rapid warming in recent decades is attributable to anthropogenic influences, posing an existential threat to the GBR ecosystem. Without urgent intervention, near-annual bleaching could become the norm, endangering biodiversity and the reef's ecological function and outstanding universal value.

Henley, B. J., McGregor, H. V., King, A. D., Hoegh-Guldberg, O., Arzey, A. K., Karoly, D. J., Lough, J. M., DeCarlo, T. M., & Linsley, B. K. (2024). Highest ocean heat in four centuries places Great Barrier Reef in danger. Nature, 632(8024), 320–326. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07672-x