It’s so large that it can be seen from space, but the Great Barrier Reef is disappearing at an increased rate because of climate change. Rising ocean temperatures, water pollution, ocean acidification and cyclones continually pummel the reef and have caused mass coral bleaching. What took 8,000 years for nature to create could disappear within our lifetime.
Some quick facts about the Great Barrier Reef:
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The Great Barrier Reef is classed as the single largest living organism in the world, spanning a total distance of over 2600km from the Torres Strait in the North to the Fraser Island area in the South
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The Great Barrier Reef is comprised of over 900 individual islands
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Over 1500 species of tropical fish, 400 different types of coral, 200 types of birds and 20 types of reptiles are just some of the lifeforms which inhabit the reef
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The Great Barrier Reef is listed as one of the “Seven Natural Wonders of the World”
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The Great Barrier Reef covers an overall area that is larger than the size of Italy
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The Great Barrier Reef draws over a million visitors from all over the world each year
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In terms of the Australian economy, the Great Barrier Reef alone generates over 6 billion dollars worth of revenue per year
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Around 10 percent of the world’s total fish species can be found just within the Great Barrier Reef
