Diving conditions have improved dramatically in the past few years with the continuing education of locals by the dive community. The El Nino weather pattern of 1997 caused a warming of the waters which resulted in the loss of a great deal of the shallow corals near the island. Since then, the recovery has been swift and dramatic. Koh Tao now offers some of the best scuba diving in the Gulf of Thailand.[2] And with help by island conservation groups the island environmental outlook is strong.