Abnormally hot weather leads to the deaths of a billion marine life in Canada

According to Chris Hurley, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia, the province's abnormal heatwave may have caused the mass deaths of more than 1 billion marine animals living along the Salish Sea coast. Abnormally high temperatures in Canada have already led to hundreds of human deaths; now the suffering of marine animals is becoming apparent.

"A midge on shore is kind of like a toddler left in a car on a hot day," Harley said, "they get stuck on land until the parent comes back, or in this case, the tide comes back in. They're at the mercy of the environment. And on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, it got so hot that the mussels didn't wait for their escape."

Harley and a group of research students began surveying several shorelines, including West Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast. They found endless rows of dead mussels, starfish and seashells.

To determine the magnitude of what happened, Harley calculated the number of dead animals found in small areas and multiplied it by the size of the animals' habitat. The study shows that warming oceans could reduce the number of marine life by 17%. According to Harley, this will negatively affect water quality as mussels and clams help filter the sea.

While mussel numbers are likely to recover in a year or two, Harley noted that because of climate change, abnormal heat waves will now occur more frequently and with greater severity. These deaths, he said, are a reminder that the environment is suffering severe consequences from extreme weather events.