Question: why is the coral reef dying ?

Hannah Grist answered on 16 Jun 2016:

It’s really sad, isn’t it? Everytime I see in the news about the coral reef dying I get really upset, because it is such a beautiful place.
Coral is a cool thing, because it is actually two species living together in the same place. When it gets really stressed though, one of them leaves (imagine walking out of a room you share with your best friend because you are feeling really stressed and have had an argument!). That’s called coral bleaching, because it loses the colour when one leaves.
Unfortunately, they can’t live apart. Sometimes they make up and get back together, so the coral can regrow and keep living. Sometimes they don’t make up, and that’s when the coral dies.
We are aren’t quite sure what is making the coral reef in Australia so stressed though. It might be because the sea is warmer than it was before, and all the coral is feeling stressed by being too hot. It also might be because of pollution that is ending up in the water.