Ocean warming threatens more frequent bleaching of Great Barrier Reef鈥攔eport

By: 3 years ago

A school of fish swim above a staghorn (Acropora cervicornis) coral colony as it grows on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Cairns, Australia October 25, 2019. REUTERS

MELBOURNE 鈥� Waters off Australia face more frequent and severe marine heatwaves that threaten the Great Barrier Reef, a report said on Monday, as a United Nations team began a visit to evaluate whether the World Heritage site should be listed as 鈥渋n danger鈥�.

The reef is at risk of another mass bleaching, following three in the past six years, as sea surface temperatures off the northeast coast of Australia have soared to as much as 2-4 degrees Celsius above average, Australian environmental group Climate Council said in the report.

The government鈥檚 Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority last Friday said most of the marine park off the coast of Queensland state had been hit by 鈥渟ignificant heat stress鈥� over the summer, which in the Southern Hemisphere falls between the months of December and February.

The marine heatwaves are affecting fisheries, damaging species and hurting tourism.

鈥淚t鈥檚 getting grim and it鈥檚 getting to the point where we can鈥檛 even simulate the combination of conditions that the reef is experiencing in a controlled laboratory setting to discern this,鈥� said marine biologist Jodie Rummer at James Cook University in Queensland.

If climate change continues unabated, the reef could face bleaching events annually after 2044, the Climate Council said.

The report was released the day UNESCO experts were set to begin a 10-day trip to Australia to meet scientists, regulators, policymakers, local communities and indigenous leaders to assess the government鈥檚 Reef 2050 Plan.

The team鈥檚 main goal is to assess whether the plan 鈥渁ddresses the threats posed to the Great Barrier Reef by climate change and other factors, and that it determines a pathway for accelerated action,鈥� UNESCO said in a statement.

The experts鈥� report is expected by early May, and will lead to a recommendation to the World Heritage Committee 鈥� due to meet in late June 鈥� on whether the site should be listed as 鈥渋n danger鈥�.

With heavy lobbying, Canberra averted the embarrassment of an 鈥渋n danger鈥� listing in 2015 and last year, even as the conservative government resisted raising its 2030 target for cutting carbon emissions, which are considered the main cause of global warming.

The Climate Council wants Australia to slash its carbon emissions by 75% below 2005 levels by 2030, nearly three times as much as the government鈥檚 target.

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