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 Thomas Dallison at the ICRI Secretariat.

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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