Indian Ocean Coral Bleaching
Risk of widespread coral bleaching low
The year 2024 has been confirmed as the hottest year on record, at 1.55 degrees Celsius (C) above pre-industrial temperatures (WMO). 2025 is projected to be warm but forecast suggest it will be slightly cooler than both 2024 and 2023. At the start of the southern summer, global sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are well above average, with weak La Niña-like conditions prevailing. Forecasts suggest that this condition will be short lived and the ENSO index, and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) will remain neutral throughout the first quarter of 2025.
For materials and guidance on responding to coral bleaching and mortality, watch the following video or download the following guide. Bleaching alerts from 2009 to date are available further down the page.
Indian Ocean Bleaching observations Dashboard 2016-2025 click to open the dashboard
Report Coral Bleaching
Submit basic observations on coral bleaching through this embedded window, in the google-form below. All data will be submitted to the global bleaching form supported by the NOAA Coral Reef Watch programme, and made accessible on a WIO regional database under development.
HISTORICAL BLEACHING – 2009 TO PRESENT
All past bleaching alerts, from 2009 to the current year, are in the window below. Click on the relevant year, or scroll left/right within each year for additional alerts. Alerts are published between January and May each year, with fewer alerts when bleaching risk is low.