World Weather Attribution

Published date April 28, 2016

Great Barrier Reef Bleaching, March 2016

  • States that there is indisputable evidence climate change is harming the Great Barrier Reef
  • Assesses how much climate change might be contributing to bleaching events like the event occurring in March 2016
  • Estimates that climate change has increased sea surface temperatures in the hottest March months by just over 1°C
  • States that March 2016 was clearly extreme in the observed weather record, but climate models estimate that by 2034 temperature anomalies like March 2016 will be normal