Australia’s Great Barrier Reef suffers worst bleaching on record

Bleached and dead coral around Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef [David Gray/AFP]

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, which stretches for some 2,300km (1,429 miles) off the country’s northeastern coast, is suffering its worst bleaching event on record.

The extent of the bleaching was revealed in aerial surveys after the government agency tasked with the reef’s management confirmed early last month that the reef had been hit by its fifth major bleaching event since 2016.