Great Barrier Reef coral bleaching: too soon for optimism, says academic

Severe bleaching can be lethal to reef systems, triggering long-term degradation through the erosion of underlying structures

A coral scientist has warned that early official optimism that the Great Barrier Reef will be spared the worst of a predicted worldwide coral bleaching event is misplaced.

The Queensland minister for the environment and the reef, Steven Miles, announced on Thursday that signs of only minor damage through the Australian summer to date had raised hopes the reef would not fall victim to its third major bleaching episode in two decades.