New research has revealed alarming coral mortality rates of 92% after last year’s bleaching event at Lizard Island on Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef, marking one of the highest coral mortality rates ever documented globally.

The study Coral bleaching and mass mortality at Lizard Island revealed by drone imagery’ has been published in Coral Reefs.

The team assessed the impact of the Fourth Global Coral Bleaching Event, declared by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in April 2024, which caused extensive bleaching and mortality across the reef system.