Asia-Pacific

Australia's Great Barrier Reef Suffers Mass Coral Bleaching Event

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By Eason Pan/Wesley Lewis

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Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is suffering from a major bleaching event. Bleaching happens when heat stress, in this case exacerbated by climate change, forces coral to shed the colorful algae that lives in its tissue, turning them white. Experts say this year’s bleaching is more widespread than other recent cases. The reef contributes about US$4 billion to Australia’s economy every year.