SYDNEY, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- A late summer monsoon in 2026 brought the Great Barrier Reef a reprieve from unfolding coral bleaching, aiding its initial recovery from recent climate-induced disturbances, a report said on Tuesday.
Coral cover across all three regions of the reef increased slightly or remained at similar levels to last year, indicating limited impacts from the 2025 mass bleaching event and a regional bleaching event earlier in 2026, according to an annual survey report by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS).
Coral cover in the northern region increased 16.7 percent from 30 percent to 35.1 percent over the 2025/26 field season, while the central region rose 10.2 percent from 28.6 percent to 31.6 percent. The southern region declined 2 percent from 26.9 percent to 26.4 percent, within the margin of error, the report said.
"The reef experienced a summer of above-average sea temperatures once again, but the late summer monsoon activity, which increased cloud cover and reduced sea temperatures, likely limited the severity and extent of bleaching," said Mike Emslie, leader of AIMS' Long-Term Monitoring Program.
AIMS surveyed 121 coral reefs for the 2025/26 field season. Of those, 56 percent showed no change in coral cover, 28 percent an increase and 16 percent a decline.
The Great Barrier Reef remained a system under pressure, Emslie said, noting six mass bleaching events between 2016 and 2025, compared with exceptionally rare events before the 1990s.
"This increased frequency and escalating impact is compounded by the damage from cyclones, floods and outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish," he said. "While the reef is showing resilience, it is being pushed, and its capacity to recover is limited." ■