The UN is sending scientists to visit the Great Barrier Reef as a coral bleaching risk rises. 

A United Nations monitoring trip to the Great Barrier Reef will run for 10 days from 21 March, with two UNESCO scientists coming at the request of the Morrison government. 

The visit could coincide with a new wave of bleaching on the reef, which has been forecast by the US government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

Local environmental groups are concerned that because they have not received any itinerary or other details, the UN scientists may not be shown the true scale of the bleaching effects. 

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority says there is already “low to moderate bleaching” in many areas, with significant heat stress accumulating in some parts of the far north of the reef. 

“The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting sea surface temperatures to remain above average throughout most of the marine park in the coming weeks,” the authority says.

The 2,300km Great Barrier Reef has seen five mass bleaching events in recent years - occurring in 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017 and 2020. All of these are believed to have been caused by rising ocean temperatures driven by global heating.

There are some signs of recovery, with coral cover over the reef having risen in the last 18 months due to benign conditions. However, the Australian Institute of Marine Science notes that this recovery has mostly come in the form of fast-growing corals, which are more susceptible to bleaching.

One expert from UNESCO and another from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) will travel to the Reef in coming weeks, with a report from the mission expected to be completed by early May. 

The Morrison government requested the UNESCO mission last year, after lobbying intensely to avoid having the Reef be labelled as ‘in danger’.