Sea temperatures are above average The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is showing signs of coral bleaching

According to foreign media reports, Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority said that the current sea temperature of the Great Barrier Reef is 2 to 3 degrees Celsius higher than the February average, and several coral areas have detected signs of heat stress, increasing the likelihood of severe bleaching again.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority reportedly said that the current sea temperature is 2 to 3 degrees above the average temperature in February, which is already the highest temperature of the year due to the long-term higher temperature of the ocean current than usual.

Infographic: On March 1, 2016, a research station on Lizard Island in Queensland, Australia, posted photos of accelerated bleaching of corals in the Great Barrier Reef. According to the head of the research station, the so-called "bleaching" is due to the warming of the climate, the death of the seaweed that provides nutrients to the polyps, resulting in the coral population losing color and turning white.

David Wachenfeld, chief scientist at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, said in a weekly update that the anomalies were very worrying and had worsened over the past week.

The Great Barrier Reef, which stretches for 2,300 kilometres along Australia's northeast coast and spans half the size of Texas in the United States, has just begun to recover after two consecutive years of severe coral bleaching in 2016 and 2017.

Lyle Vail, director of the Lizard Island Research Station at the Australian Museum, said he observed some degree of bleaching of corals in the shallow waters off Lizard Island. Lizard Island is part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

A statement from the World Wildlife Fund Australia said: "The bright blue staghorn coral is fluorescent, which is another sign that something is wrong with the coral. ”