Coral Bleaching Latest News

The Ocean Agency - Fluorescing | Ocean Image Bank

The pages aims to collate the latest news with respect to coral reef bleaching announcements an observations on national, regional and global-scales. Should you any additional news items or announcements that you would like to include on this page, please contact Tom Dallison at the ICRI Secretariat.

CORDIO East Africa release the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) Regional Bleaching Alert Summary Report for the 2024 season

09 July 2024

This report highlights substantial thermal stress on WIO coral reefs in early 2024, marking the fourth global coral bleaching event as of 15 April 2024. It includes data analyses and recommendations for mitigating future coral bleaching impacts. The 2024 coral bleaching season in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) was severe due to El Niño, positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) phases, and record global temperatures starting in May 2023. These conditions elevated sea surface temperatures, causing widespread coral bleaching and mortality. 73% of field observations showed moderate to severe bleaching: 43.3% medium severity and 30.9% high severity. Coral mortality was mostly low (34.3%) and medium (29.1%), with 9.9% high mortality. Further high-mortality cases may be confirmed later.

Download the Report (.pdf)

Mass coral bleaching threatens Malaysia’s marine biodiversity, says Fisheries Dept

23 June 2024

Coral reefs in the country are experiencing significant mass coral bleaching due to rising sea surface temperatures, potentially having serious implications for marine biodiversity, coral reef fisheries and tourism in Malaysia.

Read the Update

40% Coral Bleaching Recorded in Singapore

23 June 2024

Coral bleaching in Singapore has worsened amid high sea-surface temperatures, with about 40 per cent of reefs in the shallow waters of the Southern Islands, further compounded by an oil spill on June 14.

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Little to no bleaching on Australia’s western coral reefs and the 2023/24 El Niño comes to an end.

28 May 2024

Australian Institute of Marine Science report little to no bleaching on Western Australia’s coralreefs, and Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology indicate that the most recent El Niño event has ended, with neutral conditions expected to remain until July.

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Monsoon winds cool the Western Indian Ocean, leading to a hope that ‘bleaching season’ in the region has come to an end.

27 May 2024

The monsoon winds intensified over the last two weeks, leading to further cooling of the Western Indian Ocean basin. Bleaching season is coming to an end with few reports of mortality and recovery across sites in Kenya and Tanzania- leading to a further urge for the submission of bleaching observations and post-bleaching monitoring.

Read the Update
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‘Boiling not warming’: Marine life suffers as Thai sea temperatures hit record

24 May 2024

Aquatic life from coral reefs to fish along Thailand’s eastern gulf coast is suffering as sea surface temperatures hit record highs this month amid a regional heatwave, report Reuters. The Trat archipelago is home to over 66 islands, with over 28.4 square kilometres of coral reef, where up to 30% of coral life has bleached and 5% already indicating bleaching-induced mortality.

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The Reef Authority release their latest bleaching update from the Great Barrier Reef

24 May 2024

On the Great Barrier Reef, sea surface temperatures are currently below the threshold that typically causes heat stress to corals; however they are still 1 degree above the average for May.

Watch the Update

Report confirms Great Barrier Reef has suffered worst summer on record

17 April 2024

The Great Barrier Reef has suffered the worst summer on record, enduring cyclones, severe flooding, crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks and a mass coral bleaching event, an Australian Government report has today confirmed.

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Western Indian Ocean: Temperatures in decline in the Western Indian Ocean with no coral mortality reported.

19 April 2024

CORDIO East Africa have released their second ‘Western Indian Ocean Bleaching Alert’ in April 2024. Temperatures are in decline across the region and no coral mortality has yet been reported. Widespread moderate bleaching in northern parts of the WIO should stabilize and dissipate in coming weeks, with only slight residual risk in Kenya/Somalia and NW
Seychelles.

Read the Bleaching Alert 19 April 2024
Read previous bleaching alerts

Western Indian Ocean: Widespread bleaching reported in Kenya and Tanzania, but little mortality evident. Peak temperatures likely reached, portending reduced risk in the coming weeks.

01 April 2024

CORDIO East Africa have released their ‘Western Indian Ocean Bleaching Alert’ for April 2024. The entire Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region is uniformly hot, with intense hotspot development off northern Tanzania and Kenya. Thermal stress has intensified over the past two weeks, with all 21 NOAA virtual bleaching stations in the WIO on high/severe bleaching alert.

Read the Bleaching Alert 01 April 2024
Read previous bleaching alerts

The Reef Authority conclude aerial surveys of the Great Barrier Reef

28 March 2024

Aerial surveys across the far northern region of the Great Barrier Reef, from north of Lizard Island up to and including the Torres Straits, have continued this week. These surveys conclude the campaign of aerial surveys over the Reef. To date, the Reef Authority and Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) scientists have surveyed 588 individual reefs.

Widespread bleaching of shallow-water corals between Cape Melville (north of Cooktown) and Bundaberg in the south has been recorded. This coral bleaching event is still unfolding and we are regularly receiving new information that helps us understand the impacts to date.

The results of the 588 aerial surveys that have been analysed so far span the areas of the Reef that recorded some of the highest levels of heat stress over the summer months. While there is considerable variability in how much coral bleaching was observed on those reefs, high proportions of the corals that could be seen from the air were clearly bleached.

Sea surface temperatures continue to decline in the Central and Southern Regions Marine Park; however, are still above the long-term monthly average. International climate models suggest the El Niño weather event is decaying, with sea surface temperatures in the central Pacific predicted to return to more neutral levels in May.

Read the latest update from the Great Barrier Reef
Watch the latest Reef Update from 28 March 2024

The Reef Authority announce a mass bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef

08 March 2024

Aerial surveys conducted by the Reef Authority in collaboration with scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science spanning two-thirds of the Marine Park have now been completed. These surveys confirm a widespread, often called mass, coral bleaching event is unfolding across the Great Barrier Reef. Aerial surveys have been completed on over 300 inshore, midshelf and offshore reefs, from Cape Melville north of Cooktown to just north of Bundaberg (southern boundary of the Marine Park). Aerial surveys of the Reef have revealed prevalent shallow water coral bleaching on most surveyed reefs and results are consistent with patterns of heat stress that has built up over summer. Heat stress has not been even across the Reef, and coral bleaching observed is variable.

This unfolding coral bleaching event follows similar reports from reefs around the world during the past 12 months. These Northern Hemisphere reefs have suffered coral bleaching as a result of climate change-driven elevated ocean temperatures, amplified by El Niño conditions in the Pacific Ocean. While aerial surveys show that this coral bleaching event is widespread, the severity and depth of coral bleaching can only be assessed through in-water surveys. We are continuing to conduct in-water observations with research partners and extended observer network.

Read the latest update from the Great Barrier Reef
Watch the latest Reef Update from 08 March 2024

Western Indian Ocean: Indications are for a hot 2024 bleaching season in the Western Indian Ocean, with moderate to high bleaching expected

01 March 2024

CORDIO East Africa have released their ‘Western Indian Ocean Bleaching Alert’ for 1st March 2024. The El Niño persists, although a steady weakening trend is evident. The IOD remains neutral and is projected to remain in this state until end of April. The bleaching outlook for March to June remains severe, with most of the coral reef locations in the WIO predicted to experience strong bleaching.

Read the Bleaching Alert 01 March 2024
Read previous bleaching alerts

Sever Bleaching of Corals in the West Indies

08 December 2023

The French Coral Reef Initiative (IFRECOR): The French West Indies experienced abnormally high temperatures for nearly 10 weeks (from August to November 2023) leading to a major and unprecedented episode of coral bleaching. The first signs of coral bleaching were postponed at the end of August in Guadeloupe and Martinique as well as in St-Martin and St-Barthélemy and the resumption of color of bleached corals at the end of November / beginning of December 2023, i.e. 3 months of impact of the bleaching phenomenon (up to 80%, or even more locally, of bleached coral colonies depending on the site). Mortality levels are still being studied.

A summary note on the bleaching update on the West Indies is available (.pdf). Resources are available in French.

Read the update
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