Climate
Climate conditions that influenced the 2026 Report Card
Climate plays a fundamental role in the health of our waterways and catchments. Climate change remains the greatest threat to the Great Barrier Reef, influencing weather patterns and ocean conditions, such as temperature and currents, and intensifying the effects of other threats.
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During the 2024 to 2025 reporting year, the Townsville Dry Tropics region experienced a record-breaking wet season, which saw some rivers reach major flood levels. No tropical cyclones affected the region.
Rainfall
The record-breaking wet season saw rainfall totals more than double the long-term average. In the Ross Basin, 2572mm was recorded, whilst the Black Basin received 3660mm, which triggered some rivers to reach major flood levels. This was also more than double rainfall totals the year before.
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Data collected in response to an event, such as during record rainfall, is not included in the Waterways Report Card. Instead, data collected as part of routine monitoring is used to ensure results from year to year can be compared. Some events may be captured in routine monitoring, but as the data are averaged out across the year, the effects may not always be apparent in the results.
Air temperature
Most months were warmer than the long-term norm. In February, temperatures were below average though, due to cloud cover. The annual average air temperature in the Ross Basin was 0.2°C higher than the year before, at 25.1°C, which is warmer than the long-term average by 1.4°C. The Black Basin, on the other hand, was 0.2°C cooler than the year before at 24.2°C, exceeding its long-term norm by 1°C.
Sea surface temperatures
The annual average sea surface temperature was 26.9°C, which was 0.7°C above the long-term average, and slightly higher (0.1°C) than the year before. For 11 months of the year, sea surface temperatures in our reporting region were ‘above average’ to the ‘highest 1%’ on record. February, due to cloud cover, was the exception with temperatures falling into the ‘average’ bracket.
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Prolonged exposure to heat can lead to coral bleaching. Despite temperatures lessening closer to the coast, the risk of coral bleaching ranged from ‘moderate’ to ‘very high,’ with all the marine zone experiencing between 4 and 8+ Degree Heating Weeks.
