diff --git a/include/boost/gil/algorithm.hpp b/include/boost/gil/algorithm.hpp
index 1ca884a0f..7b592c2a9 100644
--- a/include/boost/gil/algorithm.hpp
+++ b/include/boost/gil/algorithm.hpp
@@ -730,7 +730,7 @@ void uninitialized_copy_pixels(const View1& view1, const View2& view2) {
                                        view2.begin().x(),
                                        is_planar());
     else {
-        typename View1::y_coord_t y;
+        typename View1::y_coord_t y = 0;
         try {
             for (y=0; y<view1.height(); ++y)
                 detail::uninitialized_copy_aux(view1.row_begin(y), view1.row_end(y),