The corals consist of individual polyps, live creatures only a few millimeters in diameter, which join together to form colonies. Each polyp lives inside a hard shell of aragonite, which is what we recognize as coral. Algae create the colors of coral, but when the water remains too warm for too long, the coral is stressed and bleaches. If it takes too long for the water to cool again, the coral dies and turn white.

The Great Barrier Reef consists of more than 3,000 reefs, which range in size from 1 hectare to over 10,000 hectares in area, outside the northeast coast of Australia. It has for a long time been a popular destination for tourists, and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is an important source of income for the local and Australian economy.

Argument: According to the study The Implications of Climate Change for Australia's Great Barrier Reef, presented by WWF Australia and the Queensland Tourism Industry Council, 95% of the corals at the Great Barrier Reef will be lost.