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  4. Lake water in Brazil's Amazon rainforest hit record-high temperatures. Now, more than 100 dolphins are dead.

Lake water in Brazil's Amazon rainforest hit record-high temperatures. Now, more than 100 dolphins are dead.

Katie Hawkinson   

Lake water in Brazil's Amazon rainforest hit record-high temperatures. Now, more than 100 dolphins are dead.
LifeInternational1 min read
  • Researchers found over 100 dolphins dead in a remote lake in Brazil's Amazon rainforest.
  • Triple-digit water temperatures and an ongoing drought likely caused the deaths, experts said.

More than 100 dolphins are dead after several days of triple-digit water temperatures and an ongoing drought in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, researchers say.

The news comes out of the Mamirauá Institute, a state-funded research organization. Their researchers identified the dolphins in the remote Lake Tefé, CNN reported. Researchers said they recorded water temperatures peaking at 102 degrees Fahrenheit, a record-high for the lake.

The extreme temperature, coupled with drought conditions, likely caused the deaths, a spokesperson for the institute told CNN.

While dolphins in a lake may sound strange, freshwater dolphins — along with other aquatic mammals like manatees and giant otters — are found all over the Amazon rainforest.

Over the last several weeks, Brazil's Amazon rainforest has descended into a severe drought. Officials estimate the crisis could affect 500,000 people by the end of the year.

The drought has been exacerbated by El Niño, which inhibits rain cloud formation, The Associated Press reported.

Meanwhile, dolphins aren't the only marine life suffering as a result of extreme water temperatures. Off the coast of Florida, researchers found mass coral reef deaths after water temperatures hit 101 degrees Fahrenheit in August.


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