Once A Jewel, Australia's Ningaloo Reef Now Faces Coral Bleaching Crisis

Australia's Ningaloo Reef, one of the world's longest near-shore coral reefs and a UNESCO World Heritage-listed site, is showing alarming signs as the coral has lost its natural colour. The Ningaloo Reef, home to hundreds of marine species, has turned white, similar to the sand on the sea floor.

Filmmaker Evan Risucci, who was on a trip to Turquoise Bay with his partner Emily Wapman, told CNN, "Someone from the United States might come here and think, 'wow, this is so pretty,' and be completely oblivious to the fact that it's all dead."

Hundreds of years-old corals are bleaching, and it is usually happening due to too much heat. 

Molecular ecologist Kate Quigley said the Ningaloo Reef was sick and not completely dead. She explained oceans were absorbing 90 per cent of the extra heat caused by global warming, and the last eight years had been the hottest on record.

She said since 2023, a mass bleaching event, in which corals lose their colour due to scorching heat, has spread across at least 82 countries and territories, affecting nearly 84 per cent of all coral reefs, including Ningaloo Reef.

Ms Quigley said that Ningaloo Reef had mostly escaped from the worst effects of global coral bleaching, but with March being the hottest month ever recorded in Western Australia, things changed. 

The marine heatwave, combined with above-normal temperatures, affected the corals. "It was only a matter of time before bleaching would come here," she added.

Australian billionaire iron ore miner Andrew Forrest said, "When you get mass bleaching events on both reef systems, then you're really saying to every Australian, this is exactly what we were warned about, and it has now come true."

Calling it heartbreaking, Nush Freedman, a photographer who has lived in Exmouth for 10 years, said the coral's beauty has declined over time. 

From the tiniest creatures to the largest marine animals, she pointed out that Ningaloo Reef is home to a diverse range of life forms, but added that the magic of the place has faded.