Severe coral bleaching could return to the Great Barrier Reef in the next four weeks scientists warn, after new bleaching and unusually high ocean temperatures have been documented.
Newly bleached corals have been discovered near Townsville.
Vast swathes of the Great Barrier Reef have been placed on Alert Level 1 by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch for the next four weeks — meaning that coral bleaching is likely.
Parts of the Far Northern, Northern and Central Reef are on the even higher Alert Level 2, indicating mortality is likely.
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