Look: Australia's Great Barrier Reef erupts in colour as corals create new life

The corals fertilised billions of offspring on Tuesday, an event scientists described as 'magical'

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is spawning in an explosion of colour as the World Heritage-listed natural wonder recovers from life-threatening coral bleaching episodes.

Scientists on Tuesday night recorded the corals fertilising billions of offspring by casting sperm and eggs into the Pacific Ocean off the Queensland state coastal city of Cairns.

The spawning event lasts for two or three days.

The network of 2,500 reefs covering 348,000sqm suffered significantly from coral bleaching caused by unusually warm ocean temperatures in 2016, 2017 and last year. The bleaching damaged two-thirds of the coral.

Gareth Phillips, a marine scientist with Reef Teach, a tourism and educational business, is studying the spawning as part of a project to monitor the reef’s health.