Why the 6th Bleaching Event in the Great Barrier Reef is a Concern

Recently, a large strip of the Great Barrier Reef in Sydney, Australia has suffered a wave of the 6th bleaching event due to climate change. Why is this important? Lots of reasons.

The first, most obvious one is that this is a huge indicator of climate change becoming more and more intolerable to wildlife. When corals bleach, they lose their color and go from the fluorescent pinks and oranges and yellows to white. The reason they do so is because it is an attempt to protect their tissue from the heat.

The concerning thing is that these bleaching events are starting to occur more frequently and closer together. There have been four in the last 6 years, and before that the last bleaching events to occur were in 2002 and 1998.

What is being done to save it? While many agree that the Australian government is not providing enough evidence that they are doing as much as they can to save the reef, earlier this year, they pledge $700 million to support technology to adapt and combat climate change over the next 10 years.

The number one issue killing the reefs is climate change. In order to fight that and save the reefs, significant strides towards change need to occur in this decade.