Shipping regulations to reduce pollution may have exacerbated Great Barrier Reef bleaching

Rising ocean temperatures have been implicated in mass coral bleaching events affecting the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). These events have been increasingly frequent, with major events occurring in 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022, 2024, and 2025. Now, in an unexpected turn of events, it appears that regulations introduced in 2020 to reduce ship fuel pollution may have actually increased the solar radiation that leads to increased coral bleaching, according to a study published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment.