South Asia has recorded a 16.2% increase in hard coral cover over the past two decades, making it one of only two regions globally showing significant recovery, according to a major international monitoring report.
In a rare positive development for ocean health, South Asian coral reefs have demonstrated substantial recovery over the past quarter-century, standing out against a bleak global backdrop. According to the Status of Coral Reef of the World: 2025 report by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, hard coral cover in South Asia increased from 30.1% to 35% between the 1997-2009 period and 2020-2024, representing one of only two major regions worldwide showing meaningful improvement. The analysis draws on data from over 21 million observations across nearly 37,000 reef sites globally.
The recovery is particularly pronounced in oceanic atoll systems, with the Maldives and Chagos Archipelago demonstrating remarkable resilience following the devastating 1998 global bleaching event. The Maldives alone accounts for approximately 59% of South Asia's coral reef extent. However, the recovery pattern remains uneven across the region. Continental reef systems, including those off Sri Lanka and parts of India, have experienced declining coral cover during the assessment period, suggesting they face heightened vulnerability to climate change and localized human pressures compared to isolated atolls.
The positive trajectory for South Asia contrasts sharply with global trends. Worldwide, average hard coral cover has declined 9.5% from historical levels, with reefs suffering an 8.9% decline in 2023-2024 alone—the largest single-year drop recorded. Caribbean reefs have declined by 43.4%, while the ROPME Sea Area fell by 48.7%. Scientists attribute the accelerating damage to increasingly frequent marine heatwaves linked to climate change, which have reduced recovery periods from roughly a decade to just five or six years.
Despite mounting pressures including pollution, destructive fishing, and the fourth global bleaching event that intensified in 2023-2024, researchers emphasize that coral collapse is not inevitable. The South Asian recovery demonstrates that reefs can regenerate when given adequate time and conditions, provided global warming is limited and conservation efforts are strengthened.