‘Most of it was dead’: scientists discover one of Great Barrier Reef’s worst coral bleaching events

Bleached and dead coral around Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef in April. By June 97% of them at one reef near the island had died, according to new drone footage analysis. Photograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty Images

At least 97% of corals on a reef in the Great Barrier Reef’s north died during one of the worst coral bleaching events the world’s biggest reef system has ever seen, according to new analysis.

Scientists at several institutions used high-resolution drone imagery to track the bleaching and death of corals on a reef at Lizard Island.