National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a bleaching watch warning to Maldives via the Satellite Coral Bleaching Alert System, and a press-release has been subsequently issued by MRC in regards to the developing situation. The scale at which the Current Coral Bleaching Alert Level is measured by NOAA ranges from No stress, Watch, Warning, Alert level 1, and up to Alert level 2. At the time the press-release had been published by MRC, the alert level for the Maldives was at “Watch”, and has since then been raised to “Warning”. It is predicted that in forthcoming weeks, the continued elevated surface temperatures will prompt the alert level to be further raised to “Alert level 1” in southern areas of the country. Following this warning, we are taking precautionary measures to monitor the coral reefs of the Maldives.

The economy and well-being of our community is directly and indirectly dependent upon the resilience and health of these reefs. Due to the magnitude of potential negative impacts from coral bleaching, it is advisable to reduce the stress on coral reefs which could further decline the health of the coral and inhibit its recovery following the bleaching event. As temporary mitigation measures to reduce the damaging impact of the bleaching event, we would recommend the suspension of any activities which would cause additional stressors to the reefs such as beach nourishment, dredging and land reclamation.

For near-real-time updates on the coral bleaching alert levels for the Maldives, please visit NOAA's website. 

In addition to this, if you witness any level of bleaching while snorkeling, diving or air travel (sea plane) kindly report to us via this form.