Devastating photos show how much the Great Barrier Reef has changed over the last 20 years

The INSIDER Summary:

• Australia's colorful Great Barrier Reef is "bleaching" and turning white.
• Twenty-two percent of the coral is dead.
• Parts of the site may never recover from the damage caused by warming ocean temperatures.

 
The Great Barrier Reef is the only living thing visible from space, but its life is at risk.

Almost a quarter of the coral in the 132,974 square foot wonderland of marine life is dead, and 93% has been touched by "bleaching," a result of rising ocean temperatures.

Here's what formerly vibrant sections of the Great Barrier Reef look like today.

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The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world's largest living structures.

Unfortunately, that could change.

Rising ocean temperatures cause coral to spit out the algae living in their tissues and turn white.