Coral on the Great Barrier Reef is showing early signs of bleaching, which has experts concerned as the Sunshine State is staring down the barrel of a long, hot summer.
A team of research scientists have documented pale and fully-bleached coral — which occurs when symbiotic algae inside hard coral is expelled — off the coast of Magnetic Island in Far North Queensland on Sunday.
They're concerned, as this could be the first signs of a "widespread" die-off at the World Heritage site.
If it proves true it would be the sixth mass bleaching event on the reef since 1998.