Hundreds of dolphins found dead in Amazon lake were in water hotter than a jacuzzi, study finds

When dolphins began washing up dead by the dozens on Lake Tefe in Brazil's Amazonas state, hydrologist Ayan Fleischmann was sent to find out why.

What he and his colleagues discovered was startling: a brutal drought and extreme heat wave that began in September 2023 had transformed the lake into a steaming cauldron. The lake's waters reached 41 degrees Celsius, or 105.8 degrees Fahrenheit — hotter than most spa baths.

Their findings, published Thursday in the journal Science, spotlight the impacts of planetary warming on tropical regions and aquatic ecosystems, and come as the United Nations' COP30 climate talks kick off in Brazil.

"You couldn't put your finger in the water," lead author Fleischmann, of western Brazil's Mamiraua Institute for Sustainable Development, told AFP.

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