Reef Health Updates

Reef health update | June 2026 While heat stress has eased across the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park from summer, sea surface temperatures remain slightly above average in some regions for this time of year. Climate conditions remain neutral; however, there are increasing signs that an El Niño may develop later this year, bringing drier conditions to northern Queensland in the months ahead. As win...

Reef health update | 07 May 2026 Sea surface temperatures continued to ease across the Marine Park this week. Queensland’s wet season has also come to an end, ranking as the 9th wettest on record since 1900, with most Marine Park catchments receiving above-average rainfall. Climate conditions remain neutral, however, sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean (between the Tropic of Cancer and t...

Reef health update | 30 April 2026 Sea surface temperatures continue to ease across the Marine Park, and with the changing of seasons we are seeing the last of the turtle hatchlings and seabird nesting, as humpback and Minke whales begin arriving in the Reef’s breeding grounds. Queensland’s wet season is also coming to an end, with rainfall over the summer months among the highest levels recorded...

Reef health update | 23 April 2026 Ex-Tropical Cyclone Maila crossed Cape York Peninsula as a tropical low on 15 April, bringing moderate rainfall of up to 50mm to coastal Cape York and Wet Tropics catchments. Sea surface temperatures continue to ease, and with the changing of seasons we are now seeing the first humpback whales arriving in the Marine Park, as they migrate from Antarctic waters to...

Sea surface temperatures continued to cool, dropping by a further 0.4–0.6°C this week across the Marine Park. Ex-Tropical Cyclone Maila has weakened and was downgraded to a tropical low on 11 April. The system crossed the Cape York Peninsula on 15 April, bringing moderate to heavy rainfall in some areas. Encouragingly, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has now reduced the...

Reef health update | 9 April 2026 Sea surface temperatures continued to cool this week, dropping by 0.2–0.4°C across most of the Marine Park. Tropical Cyclone Maila (37U) has now formed in the Solomon Sea and has rapidly intensified into a Category 5 system. Current Bureau of Meteorology forecasts show the system tracking into the Coral Sea, with a likely coastal crossing near Cape York Peninsula...

Sea surface temperatures continue to ease across the Marine Park this week, dropping by around 0.1–0.2°C. Heavy rainfall from ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle caused a major flood in the Far Northern region, with the Pascoe River reaching 19.3 metres - the highest level recorded in more than 50 years and likely a one-in-200-year event. The flood plume may affect nearby ecosystems like seagrass meadows...

We are thinking of communities in the Far Northern region affected by Tropical Cyclone Narelle. Tropical Cyclone Narelle passed through the Far Northern region of the Marine Park as a Category 5 system and crossed the Queensland coast as a Category 4 on 20 March. The cyclone generated intense winds and strong wave action along its track in the Far Northern Region, with modelling also indicating wi...

Tropical Cyclone Narelle (currently Category 5) has developed in the Coral Sea and is forecast to decrease to a Category 4 before crossing the Far Northern region of the Marine Park and making landfall on Friday. The system is expected to bring strong wind and wave action and heavy rainfall, which are likely to damage some reefs and increase the likelihood of freshwater runoff into the Marine Park...

Reef health update - 12 March 2026 Sea surface temperatures eased slightly across the Marine Park over the past week. A tropical low crossed the Marine Park on 5–6 March. The system, together with a monsoon trough, brought heavy rainfall to the Cape York, Wet Tropics and Mackay–Whitsunday catchments. While this has helped keep temperatures down across the Reef, it also increases the likelihood of...

A tropical low is developing in the Coral Sea off the east coast of North Queensland. The Bureau of Meteorology advises there is currently a low to moderate chance of it developing into a tropical cyclone. Increased wave action from this system may affect some shallow reef habitats. Monsoonal activity and the tropical low are expected to bring heavy rainfall to most Marine Park catchments. This in...

Over the past week, sea surface temperatures across the Marine Park have remained relatively stable. However now that we are well into summer, there is heat build-up in the system, particularly in the Far Northern and Northern regions of the Marine Park. The USA’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which monitors ocean temperatures globally, has updated the coral bleaching ale...

Sea surface temperatures have increased slightly across the Far North, North and Central regions over the past week, with little change in the southern region. Temperatures are tracking slightly above the long-term average with the Northern region (Cooktown – Innisfail) experiencing above-average conditions. The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a tropical low (23U) to form in the Coral Sea. Ther...

Reef health update | 5 February 2026 Sea surface temperatures remain stable across the Marine Park and are only slightly above average for this time of year. Above-average rainfall fell across all Marine Park catchments in January, with the most rain falling in the Cape York region. Water quality monitoring is ongoing to understand how these conditions may affect nearby reefs. Summer is also a bus...

Reef health update | 22 January 2026 Heavy rainfall over the past few weeks has led to flood plumes flowing into the Marine Park in the Northern, Central and Southern regions. These plumes are being closely monitored, with water quality checks underway through the Marine Monitoring Program. Temperature Sea surface temperatures have eased in some areas this week. The Far Northern region cooled by a...

Sea surface temperatures remain relatively stable across the Marine Park and slightly above the long-term average for this time of year. We’ve moved some of our crown-of-thorns starfish control vessels north to respond early to a new outbreak, while keeping control efforts underway in the central and southern Reefs to protect coral cover. High rainfall across Reef catchment areas during January ha...

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji formed on 10 January 2026 and made landfall between Ayr and Bowen on 11 January as a category 1 system. The system moved through the Central region of the Marine Park between Ayr and Mackay, bringing heavy rainfall. Early reports indicate flood plumes have formed in the Marine Park from nearby catchments, and flood warnings remain in place. Freshwater runoff into the Marin...

Following recent rainfall across parts of northern Queensland, the Reef Authority is working closely with our partners to monitor conditions across the Marine Park. The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts a monsoon trough will develop in the coming days, along with a tropical low off the coast of far northern Queensland. This is expected to bring high levels of rainfall to catchments of the Wet Tropic...