El Niño Takes the Heat for Death of 300 Wild Birds in Mexico
El Niño is here, bringing record temperatures this June. As of this month, global change has officially arrived and is “expected to gradually intensify in the northern hemisphere through the winter of 2023/24”. after to a recent announcement by NOAA.
This year there have been several signs of El Niño developing. Global temperatures rose at alarming rates in June this year, scientists and the Guardian have found reported. The global temperatures recorded so far were higher than average this month compared to the average air temperatures.
And even more worryingly, the higher temperatures are also having an impact on wildlife. According to Reuters, Mexican officials recently announced that hundreds of wild birds had died in several states along the Pacific coast probably caused by El Niño conditions. About 300 wild birds have been found dead in several states, including Chiapas, Michoacan and Guerrero. At first, the Mexican authorities assumed that bird flu was responsible for the mass deaths. Lots of birds specifically died of starvation, according to the Associated Press reported. When the sea is hotter, many species of fish leave shallow waters deeper, colder water. This makes it more difficult for the birds to find enough food.
The global weather pattern is the opposite of its “sister,” La Niña, which is associated with below-average sea temperatures. Sea temperatures are above average during El Niño years. what we saw this year in both the Pacific and the Atlantic. The combination of El Niño conditions and increasing fossil fuel emissions the climate crisis make for a long, hot summer in the northern hemisphere.
El Niño years are said to be hot. That was true in 2016, one of the hottest years on record, after to the World Meteorological Organization. And parts of the US are experiencing particularly hot weather this year. including Texas And Puerto Rico. And just last month A heat wave hit particularly early in the Pacific Northwest. Temperatures are likely to rise further this summer.
Interested in more climate and environmental stories? Check out Earther’s guides Decarbonizing your home, Phasing out fossil fuels, Pack a disaster bagAnd Overcome climate anxiety. And don’t miss our coverage of it current IPCC climate reportthe future of carbon dioxide removaland the non-greenwashed facts about it bioplastics And plastic recycling.
