Many dead fish floating on Lake Tefe in Brazil
THE GUARDIAN SCREENSHOT
The Guardian reported on September 30 that the death of hundreds of Amazon dolphins in Lake Tefe, Brazil, in the past few days has raised concerns that conditions on Earth may exceed the tolerance threshold of creatures in vulnerable areas.
Dozens of dead dolphins have been found floating in Lake Tefe, along with thousands of other dead fish, after a prolonged drought caused water levels to plummet.
People living in this tiny community in Amazonas state describe the scene in apocalyptic terms. “The past month at Lake Tefe has been like a science fiction scene from climate change,” said Daniel Tregidgo, a British researcher who lives in the area.
"Regularly seeing pink dolphins in the river is one of the great perks of living in the heart of the Amazon. Almost every time I go to the market for breakfast I see them floating and it reminds me why I live here. One dead is sad, but seeing piles of dead bodies during this drought is a tragedy," he said.
Geoscience researcher Ayan Fleischmann at the Mamiraua Institute (Brazil) said several conjectures about the cause are being investigated, including disease and sewage pollution.
However, he said water levels and temperatures were definitely the main factors in the dolphin deaths. "At 6pm yesterday in Lake Tefe we measured over 39 degrees Celsius. It was incredibly hot," he said.
Some 13,467 people in Tefe are living in crisis and are one of 15 communities in a state of emergency, according to Amazonas state officials. With water shortages and drought expected to worsen in October, local officials have traveled to the capital to ask the federal government for humanitarian aid.
Europe is unusually hot
In another development, AFP reported that European countries including Austria, France, Germany, Poland and Switzerland said this month was the hottest September ever recorded, in a year expected to be the hottest on record due to accelerating climate change.
The French weather agency Meteo-France said the average September temperature in the country was around 21.5 degrees Celsius, 3.5-3.6 degrees Celsius higher than the period 1991-2020. The average temperature in France has continuously exceeded the monthly average for nearly two years.
When the weather gets hotter, which sunscreen is effective?
In Germany, the DWD Weather Service said this month was the hottest September since records began, nearly 4 degrees Celsius above the 1961-1990 average. Similarly, the Polish Weather Institute reported that September temperatures were 3.6 degrees Celsius above average and the hottest month since records began more than 100 years ago.
National weather agencies in the Alpine countries of Austria and Switzerland also recorded their hottest average September temperatures on record, while a study found that glaciers in Switzerland lost 10% of their volume in two years due to excessive warming.
National weather agencies in Spain and Portugal have warned of unusually warm temperatures this weekend, with temperatures expected to reach 35 degrees Celsius in parts of southern Spain.
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