Australia's Great Barrier Reef has suffered the largest decline in coral cover in two of its three regions over the last year, research released on Wednesday showed, following a mass bleaching of its corals that was among the worst on record.

The Australian Institute of Marine Sciences said the reef has experienced the largest annual decline in coral cover in its northern and southern regions since monitoring began 39 years ago, with coral cover dropping between a quarter and a third after several years of solid growth.

Great Barrier Reef waters reached 400-year temperature highs in the past decade, study finds

The world's coral reefs are facing another mass bleaching event — maybe the biggest ever

"We are now seeing increased volatility in the levels of hard coral cover," said Mike Em

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