Concern that the Great Barrier Reef may be suffering the most severe mass coral bleaching event on record has escalated after a conservation group released footage showing damage to the reef deep below the surface.

Dr Selina Ward, a marine biologist and former academic director of the University of Queensland’s Heron Island Research Station, says it is the worst bleaching she had seen in 30 years working on the reef. 'It's absolutely heartbreaking,' she says.

Ward says Australia can't expect to save the reef while opening new fossil fuel developments. 'We really are running out of time. We need to reduce our emissions immediately.'
Great Barrier Reef suffering ‘most severe’ coral bleaching on record as footage shows damage 18 metres down