--- title: Great Barrier Reef Bleaching: New Survey Shows 93% Affected description: The bleaching is "three or four times more severe," than previous events, says the head of Australia's National Coral Bleaching Taskforce. canonical: https://time.com/4300444/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching-climate-change/ author: Rishi Iyengar article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-20T09:42:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T16:53:33.071Z article:section: Science og:title: 93% of the Great Barrier Reef Has Undergone Coral Bleaching og:description: The bleaching is "three or four times more severe" than previous, expert says. og:url: https://time.com/4300444/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching-climate-change/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cf1d9818f3b12e5/69888fe4a988cac7a26b77ef/gettyimages-539719275.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1969 og:image:height: 1108 og:image:alt: Aerial view of the Agincourt number three reef from the Quicksilver Eight pontoo og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 93% of the Great Barrier Reef Has Undergone Coral Bleaching twitter:description: The bleaching is "three or four times more severe" than previous, expert says. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cf1d9818f3b12e5/69888fe4a988cac7a26b77ef/gettyimages-539719275.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A New Survey Says 93% of the Great Barrier Reef Has Undergone Bleaching > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=b8d78d84-12d0-4ee7-920c-6b54e09b8fe7&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Friday (1x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 40,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 34.2% | TIME, August 2026 | | Click rate | 2.1% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Justin Worland, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Senior leaders shaping the climate transition. An engaged audience of executives and decision-makers spanning operating companies, finance, policy, consulting, communications and media. ### TIME Future Proof: key statements * Future Proof is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Future Proof is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=b8d78d84-12d0-4ee7-920c-6b54e09b8fe7&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/subscribe?i=b8d78d84-12d0-4ee7-920c-6b54e09b8fe7&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's climate and energy newsletter? Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Apr 20, 2016 9:42 AM UTC  Aerial view of the Agincourt number three reef from the Quicksilver Eight pontoon on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, 10 February 2005. Aerial view of the Agincourt number three reef from the Quicksilver Eight pontoon on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, 10 February 2005. Simon O'Dwyer—The AGE/Fairfax Media/Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Apr 20, 2016 9:42 AM UTC Australia’s famous Great Barrier Reef has fallen victim to its worst-ever instance of [coral bleaching](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-20/great-barrier-reef-bleaching/7340342), with a new survey revealing that 93% of the reef has undergone the life-threatening process. The survey by the country’s National Coral Bleaching Taskforce revealed that only a small fraction of the world’s biggest reef system has avoided bleaching entirely, according to local broadcaster ABC News. [Bleaching](http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral%5Fbleach.html) occurs when reefs expel the algae from their tissues — which occurs in adverse aquatic conditions like high water temperatures or pollution — placing themselves under great stress and increasing the risk of mortality. The Great Barrier Reef has been [under threat](http://time.com/4292505/great-barrier-reef-climate-change/) of mass bleaching for some time now, [due to](http://time.com/4293572/the-great-barrier-reef-is-under-attack-from-el-nino-and-climate-change/) El Niño weather conditions and rapid climate change. “We’ve never seen bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef of that severity and when bleaching is that strong it affects virtually all coral species,” Professor Terry Hughes, the head of the task force, told ABC. Hughes does clarify that the fallout “could have been much worse,” with the central and southern portions of the reef expected to regain their color in the coming months. Corals have a remarkable ability to [recover from bleaching](http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coral-reefs-show-remarkable-ability-to-recover-from-near-death/). However, the latest instance of bleaching is far worse than the previous two the Great Barrier Reef has faced — in 1998 and 2002 respectively — when only 18% of it was “severely” bleached (compared to more than half this year) and 40% remained unaffected. “So by those metrics this bleaching event is three or four times more severe,” Hughes said. \[[_ABC_](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-20/great-barrier-reef-bleaching/7340342)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4300444/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching-climate-change/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4300444/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching-climate-change/"},"headline":"A New Survey Says 93% of the Great Barrier Reef Has Undergone Bleaching","datePublished":"2016-04-20T09:42:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:53:33.071Z","description":"The bleaching is \"three or four times more severe\" than previous events, one expert says","url":"https://time.com/4300444/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching-climate-change/","keywords":["climate change","Australia","El Nino","Water","temperature"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cf1d9818f3b12e5/69888fe4a988cac7a26b77ef/gettyimages-539719275.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cf1d9818f3b12e5/69888fe4a988cac7a26b77ef/gettyimages-539719275.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Aerial view of the Agincourt number three reef from the Quicksilver Eight pontoo","caption":"Aerial view of the Agincourt number three reef from the Quicksilver Eight pontoo","creditText":"Simon O'Dwyer—The AGE/Fairfax Media/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/climate-change/","name":"climate change"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4300444/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching-climate-change/","name":"A New Survey Says 93% of the Great Barrier Reef Has Undergone Bleaching"}}]}] ```