Climate change is the greatest threat to the health and resilience of the Great Barrier Reef. Impacts of climate change are wide-ranging and intensifying. Impacts of a changing climate on the Reef include increased air and sea temperature, extreme and shifting weather patterns, altered ocean currents, increased sea-level rise, ocean acidification, and increased ultraviolet radiation.
Whilst the Reef has a natural resilience to existing disturbances such as cyclones, heatwaves and flooding events, climate change is amplifying these events and reducing recovery times. Marine heatwaves are now a major contributor to mass coral bleaching, with back-to-back events leaving less time for coral to recover.
Protecting the Reef for future generations requires immediate and sustained action to reduce the impacts of climate change on a local and global scale.
Relevant resources
Australian Attitudes on Climate Change dashboard
Sea Level Rise Viewer
