A new report has downgraded the outlook on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef from poor to very poor as a result of climate change.
Rising sea temperatures due to human-driven global warming remain the biggest threat to the reef, according to a five-year Australian government report.
Actions to save the reef “have never been more critical”, the report says.
UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee is due to consider adding the reef to its list of sites that are "in danger".
Reports on the reef’s site every five years are mandated by Australian law, and have documented its declining state over the years.
The most recent report in 2019 highlights the region has further deteriorated and that Australia is “caring for a changed and less resilient reef”.
Rising sea temperatures caused "mass bleaching events" in 2016 and 2017 that wiped out coral and destroyed habitats for other sea life. While some habitats remain in a good state, the condition of the site as a whole is worsening.
"Threats to the reef are multiple, cumulative and increasing," the report says. "The window of opportunity to improve the reef's long-term future is now."
Scientists say the number of new corals on the reef plummeted by 89%, thanks to recent bleaching events, which affected a 1,500km stretch.
Stretching over 2,300km, the reef was designated a World Heritage site in 1981 for its "enormous scientific and intrinsic importance".
Last year, Australian authorities pledged A$500 million (US$336 million) to protect the reef.