CORAL reefs off Australia’s wildest stretch of coastline may be spared agricultural runoff and other pressures from nearby human activity, but there is no escape from global warming-intensified marine heatwaves.

The Kimberley coast, one of the most intact tropical marine environments on earth, is now under threat from “unprecedented” coral bleaching.

“Rangers that have been with us for a number of decades now are saying this is the worst they have ever seen,” Kimberley Land Council chief executive officer and Bardi man Tyronne Garstone said. “Scientifically, we are ahead of the curve of getting to 1.5C hotter and we’re potentially seeing some of those impacts.”

Kimberley reefs have been rocked by a severe marine heatwave causing coral bleaching – a sign of stress, but not necessarily…