SYDNEY, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Australian scientists have reported the sixth mass coral bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef since 2016.

In a report published on Wednesday night, scientists from federal government agencies said that the iconic reef experienced a "widespread coral bleaching event" in the summer of 2024-25.

"Prolonged heat stress throughout the Far Northern and Northern regions of the reef caused widespread bleaching," said the reef snapshot published by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Australian Institute of Marine Science and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization.

It marked the sixth mass bleaching event recorded on the reef since 2016 and the second time that mass bleaching has been reported in consecutive years.

Coral bleaching is a phenomenon that occurs when coral experiencing heat stress expel the symbiotic algae living in their tissue and turn completely white. Bleaching is not fatal in itself but bleached coral are more likely to starve and can take a decade or longer to recover.

Of the 162 inshore and mid-shelf reefs monitored from the air, the report said 41 percent recorded medium to high bleaching prevalence.

In the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, 9 percent of reefs had very high levels of bleaching, although none had bleaching prevalence considered extremely high.

Responding to the report, head of oceans at the Australian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature, Richard Leck, said that bleaching is "becoming the new normal" for the reef.

"Year after year the Reef is being cooked by underwater heatwaves. It's our international treasure and it desperately needs serious action to drive down emissions," he said.

In addition to coral bleaching, the report said that the reef was impacted by cyclones, outbreaks of the invasive crown-of-thorns starfish, freshwater inundation and coral disease during the most recent summer. Enditem

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