--- title: Great Barrier Coral Reef Is Dying Faster Than Ever description: The coral bleaching event that struck the Great Barrier Reef earlier this year was the deadliest ever recorded in the region canonical: https://time.com/4584806/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-29T16:37:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T02:02:05.749Z article:section: Science og:title: The Great Barrier Coral Reef Is Dying Faster Than Ever og:description: "The coral is essentially cooked" og:url: https://time.com/4584806/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt397163ec81e5224f/6988afeffb4eac648789009b/coral-bleaching.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Supplied image of Researcher Grace Frank completing bleaching surveys along a transect line on an area known as One Tree Reef, in the Capricorn Group of Islands, on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Great Barrier Coral Reef Is Dying Faster Than Ever twitter:description: "The coral is essentially cooked" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt397163ec81e5224f/6988afeffb4eac648789009b/coral-bleaching.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Great Barrier Coral Reef Is Dying Faster Than Ever  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Nov 29, 2016 4:37 PM UTC  Grace Frank completing bleaching surveys along a transect line on an area known as One Tree Reef, in the Capricorn Group of Islands, on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Grace Frank completing bleaching surveys along a transect line on an area known as One Tree Reef, in the Capricorn Group of Islands, on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.Tory Chase—ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies/Reuters  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Nov 29, 2016 4:37 PM UTC The [coral bleaching](http://time.com/coral/) that struck the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia earlier this year was the deadliest ever recorded in the region, scientists [confirmed](https://www.coralcoe.org.au/media-releases/life-and-death-after-great-barrier-reef-bleaching) this week. Coral bleaching occurs when a disturbance—in this case unusually warm waters due to El Niño—causes corals to lose their color. The bright organisms can recover under the right conditions, but bleaching events typically lead some to die. More that two-thirds of corals in the northern part of the reef closest to shore, the most affected region, have died in the last nine months, researchers said. Around a quarter died farther offshore in the north. “The coral is essentially cooked,” James Cook University researcher Andrew Baird, who participated in the survey, told [Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-environment-idUSKBN13O059?utm%5Fsource=Daily+Carbon+Briefing&utm%5Fcampaign=7b5f1525d0-cb%5Fdaily&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F876aab4fd7-7b5f1525d0-303458869). **Read More**: [Warm Temperatures Aren’t the Only Thing Killing the World’s Coral Reefs](http://time.com/4313908/coral-reef-global-warming-climate-change-miami/) The [Great Barrier Reef](http://time.com/4300444/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching-climate-change/), perhaps the world’s best known coral reef, is far from the only region hit hard by this year’s bleaching. Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) [reported](http://time.com/4375553/coral-reefs-bleaching-climate-change/) earlier this year that bleaching had occurred in a greater area than ever before, stretching from the South Pacific to the Caribbean. Coral reefs play a key role in marine ecosystems, providing a habitat for fish, and serve as an important barrier protecting coastal communities from storms and extreme weather events. They also contribute billions to local economies through tourism and fishing. Tourism connected to the Great Barrier Reef alone employs 70,000 people and generates $5 billion in revenue annually. **Read More:** [How Sunscreen Is Helping Destroy Coral Reefs](http://time.com/4080985/sunscreen-coral-reefs/) Restoring coral reefs is a tall order in a warming climate. Scientists expect bleaching to get more frequent and more severe, even if the world fulfills commitments to limit climate change. And, once reefs are gone, they will not come back. “If you think of corals as canaries \[in a coal mine\], they’re chirping really loudly right now,” said Jennifer Koss, NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program director, earlier this year. “The ones that are still alive, that is. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4584806/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4584806/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching/"},"headline":"The Great Barrier Coral Reef Is Dying Faster Than Ever","datePublished":"2016-11-29T16:37:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:02:05.749Z","description":"\"The coral is essentially cooked\"","url":"https://time.com/4584806/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching/","keywords":["Environment"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt397163ec81e5224f/6988afeffb4eac648789009b/coral-bleaching.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt397163ec81e5224f/6988afeffb4eac648789009b/coral-bleaching.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Supplied image of Researcher Grace Frank completing bleaching surveys along a transect line on an area known as One Tree Reef, in the Capricorn Group of Islands, on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia","caption":"Supplied image of Researcher Grace Frank completing bleaching surveys along a transect line on an area known as One Tree Reef, in the Capricorn Group of Islands, on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia","creditText":"Tory Chase—ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies/Reuters","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/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4584806/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching/","name":"The Great Barrier Coral Reef Is Dying Faster Than Ever"}}]}] ```