Bleaching kills third of Great Barrier Reef

Mass bleaching has killed more than a third of the coral in the northern and central parts of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, scientists say.

The ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies released the results of its survey of the 2,300km reef off Australia’s east coast on Monday.

The scientists found that about 35% of the coral in the northern and central sections of the reef are dead or dying.