The Indian Ocean, as the third-largest body of water in the world, plays an important role in the economy, ecosystem and the weather from local to global scales. Many properties of the Indian Ocean, can be fundamentally influenced by climate change. Climate change is rapidly impacting the weather, ecosystems and life of more than two billion people. The impacts of climate change are putting increasing pressure on both marine and terrestrial environments, through more extreme weather conditions that also increase the likelihood of natural disasters.

Climate change is predicted to result in the increase in global temperatures, sea level rise, ocean acidification, more intense tropical cyclones and increase in frequency, intensity or duration of extreme weather events. It is predicted that climate change-driven disturbance will have a negative effect on: water supply; food security; health, industry, settlement and society, especially for those located in coastal areas and river flood plains. In addition, climate change would also impact on: natural systems and resources, infrastructure and labor productivity which may lead to reduced economic growth and increasing poverty and inequality. Therefore, investigation of climate change effect from different points of view, from marine environment/biodiversity to weather variation, is significant.