Great Barrier Reef Sea Temperature

Looking to find out what the sea water temperature in Great Barrier Reef is for today and the next few days? Below are data and charts that will give you information about sea temperatures in Great Barrier Reef and nearby locations.

Water temperature in Great Barrier Reef right now

Below is the current sea temperature for Great Barrier Reef, Australia on 13th January 2025.

29.55° C

(85.19° F)

yesterday: 29.63° C (85.33° F)
a week ago: 29.53° C (85.15° F)

This water temperature is comparable to that of a swimming pool, but it might be higher than most open water swimmers prefer for serious swimming. Make sure to drink plenty of water before and after swimming and don't wear a wetsuit to avoid overheating.

The average sea temperature for Great Barrier Reef on January 13th over the last 10 years is 28.94° C (84.08° F), with a low temperature of 28.05° C (82.49° F) and a high of 29.76° C (85.57° F).

Analysis and forecast for Great Barrier Reef water temperatures

The water temperature in Great Barrier Reef today is higher than the average temperature of 28.94° C (84.08° F) and the temperature on this day last year, 13th January 2024, was 29.56° C (85.21° F).

The chart and table below shows the change in water temperature in Great Barrier Reef over the last 30 days:

Date	Temperature (Celsius)	Temperature (Fahrenheit)
January 13	29.55° C	85.19° F
January 12	29.63° C	85.33° F
January 10	29.7° C	85.46° F
January 9	29.37° C	84.87° F
January 8	29.4° C	84.92° F
January 7	29.41° C	84.94° F
January 6	29.53° C	85.15° F
January 5	29.87° C	85.77° F
January 4	29.93° C	85.87° F
January 3	30° C	86° F
January 2	30.31° C	86.56° F
January 1	29.96° C	85.93° F
December 31	30.13° C	86.23° F
December 30	29.85° C	85.73° F
December 29	29.73° C	85.51° F
December 28	29.81° C	85.66° F
December 27	29.52° C	85.14° F
December 26	29.04° C	84.27° F
December 25	29.48° C	85.06° F
December 24	29.77° C	85.59° F
December 23	29.66° C	85.39° F
December 22	29.61° C	85.3° F
December 21	29.18° C	84.52° F
December 20	28.97° C	84.15° F
December 19	29.62° C	85.32° F
December 18	29.68° C	85.42° F
December 17	29.81° C	85.66° F
December 16	29.85° C	85.73° F
December 15	29.88° C	85.78° F
December 14	29.61° C	85.3° F
December 13	29.5° C	85.1° F

The actual nearshore temperatures may vary by several degrees and this can also be heavily affected by weather. Strong winds can cause cold, deep waters to replace the surface waters that had been warmed by the sun, and heavy rain can also reduce the temperature of the sea surface temperature as well.

Water temperature in Great Barrier Reef by month

The chart below shows the monthly average water temperature in Great Barrier Reef.

For more detailed information on how the sea temperature in Great Barrier Reef changes for each month of the year, choose from the months below.

January February March April May June July August September October November December

Great Barrier Reef map and nearby water temperatures

The highest temperature in Australia today is 32.69° C (90.84° F) in Gulf of Carpentaria. The lowest is in Bass Strait, where the temperature of the water is 16.51° C (61.72° F).

Why measure sea surface temperatures (SST) in Great Barrier Reef?

The ocean covers about 71% of the Earth's surface, and scientists record the sea surface temperature (SST) of locations such as Great Barrier Reef because they want to understand and learn how the ocean communicates with the atomosphere of Earth.

SST is one measure that provides information on the global climate, and it can be used to predict the weather in Great Barrier Reef as well as atmospheric model simulations and to study marine ecosystems in the area.

Data source and citation

Raw data for the calculations made to find the sea surface temperature in Great Barrier Reef comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and their 1/4° daily Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature.

The water temperature data is constructed by combining observations from different platforms (satellites, ships, buoys, and Argo floats) on a regular global grid. A spatially complete sea surface temperature map is then built by interpolating to fill in gaps in the data.

If you'd like to use any of the information above in the format it is presented, please use the citation tool below.

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