Ocean Health Pulse
One number for the health of our seas
Our monitor tracks the world's garbage patches and blends five scientific indicators into a single, honest score — so anyone can see, at a glance, how the ocean is doing. Multiple indicators are flashing red. Action can't wait.
Updated July 30, 2026 · higher is healthier (0–100)
What goes into the Pulse
Five weighted indicators, each traceable to a public scientific source. Every figure is refreshed by our daily monitoring agent.
Plastic Load
↓ Worsening19-23 million tonnes of plastic still leak into aquatic ecosystems every year (UNEP), on track for 37 Mt/yr by 2040 without action
An estimated 75–199 million tonnes of plastic are already in our oceans, with ~11M more added annually. Without action this inflow could nearly triple by 2040.
Source: IUCN / Pew–SYSTEMIQOcean Temperature
↓ WorseningGlobal sea-surface temperature anomaly hit +0.5C on 30 June 2026 - the highest ever recorded for that date - with the Nino 3.4 index at +2.1C and an 81% chance of a very strong El Nino through year-end (NOAA CPC / Copernicus)
Sea-surface temperatures keep setting records. The ocean stores about 90% of the extra heat from greenhouse gases, driving marine heatwaves and coral bleaching.
Source: NOAA / NASACoral Reef Health
→ Stable84.4% of the world's coral reef area saw bleaching-level heat stress in the 4th global event; NOAA says that event likely ended mid-2025, but a Super El Nino is rebuilding reef heat stress (NOAA Coral Reef Watch)
Roughly 14% of the world's coral was lost between 2009 and 2018, largely to warming-driven bleaching. Reefs shelter a quarter of all marine species.
Source: GCRMN (ICRI)Ocean Acidity
↓ WorseningSurface ocean pH has fallen about 0.1 units since pre-industrial times - roughly 30% more acidic - slipping from 8.11 in 1985 to 8.04 in 2024 (NOAA PMEL)
As the ocean absorbs CO₂, its pH drops. Surface waters are about 30% more acidic than in pre-industrial times, stressing shellfish, plankton and reefs.
Source: NOAA PMELOcean Protected
↑ ImprovingThe ocean crossed 10% officially protected in April 2026 (IUCN), a real 30x30 milestone - though only about 3.3% is fully or highly protected
Marine protected areas are expanding under the global '30x30' target. About 8% of the ocean has some protection today; momentum here is the dashboard's brightest signal.
Source: Protected Planet / UNEP-WCMCGarbage Patch Tracker
The five great accumulation zones
Ocean currents spin drifting plastic into five subtropical gyres. Together they hold an estimated 10.8 million km² of accumulating debris — an area larger than Canada.
- Great Pacific Garbage Patch1.6M km²
- South Pacific Garbage Patch2.6M km²
- North Atlantic Garbage Patch0.9M km²
- South Atlantic Garbage Patch0.7M km²
- Indian Ocean Garbage Patch5.0M km²
Accumulation-zone areas are published scientific estimates; patches are diffuse fields of surface and suspended microplastic, not solid masses. Our monitor watches these zones and the drivers that feed them.
Go deeper
Explore the interactive Global Ocean Atlas
Map pollution levels and coral-reef health region by region, compare any two oceans side by side, and generate a report.
Ocean Health Report
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Shop for the oceansHow the Pulse is built
The Ocean Health Pulse is a weighted composite of five sub-indices, each mapped onto a 0–100 scale where higher means healthier. Plastic load carries the most weight (30%), followed by ocean temperature and coral reef health (20% each), then acidification and marine protection (15% each) — reflecting how directly each driver shapes marine life.
A monitoring agent runs daily, pulling the latest figures from sources including NOAA, NASA, the IUCN and the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, recomputing each score and the headline Pulse. When fresh data isn't available, the last cited baseline is shown. Nothing on this page is invented telemetry — every number links to its source.
29 July 2026: ocean temperature is the day's big mover - a record-for-the-date +0.5C global SST anomaly and a strengthening Super El Nino pulled that index down, partly offset by the ocean crossing 10% officially protected for the first time.
Move the number in the right direction
Every cleanup, classroom and conscious choice nudges the Pulse upward. Help us keep it climbing.