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Coral whitening afflicts most of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, report shows

Some threequarters of Australia's famous Terrific Barrier Reef is struggling with coral whitening, authorities said in a report on Wednesday, days after environment scientists cautioned the condition was blighting such reefs worldwide.

At least 54 nations and regions have experienced mass bleaching of their reefs because February 2023 as climate modification warms the ocean's surface area waters, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has said.

The Terrific Barrier Reef is an unbelievable environment, and while it has actually revealed its durability time and time once again, this summertime has been especially tough, said Roger Beeden, of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

Environment change is the best risk to the Terrific Barrier Reef, and reef worldwide, added Beeden, the chief scientist of the Authority, which handles the location.

Coral lightening was observed on 73% of the surveyed reefs in the park, the Authority said in its report.

Lightening is activated by changes in water temperature levels that cause corals to expel the vibrant algae living in their tissues. But the corals can not survive without the algae, which provide nutrients to them.

On Monday, the world's leading reef monitoring body, Coral Reef Watch, which is run by the NOAA, stated the fourth international whitening occasion in the last three decades.

(source: Reuters)