--- title: "150 Dolphins Die as Water Hits Hot Tub Temperature" description: "More than 150 pink river dolphins died in Lake Tefé in Brazil's Amazonas state, a \"catastrophe\" that is startling scientists." date: "2023-10-05" modified: "2023-10-05" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/dolphins-die-water-temperature" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "Amazon" - "dolphins" - "global warming" - "the digest" --- # 150 Dolphins Die as Water Hits Hot Tub Temperature ![More than 150 pink river dolphins died in Lake Tefé in Brazil's Amazonas state, a "catastrophe" that is startling scientists.]() *\Image: Sylvain CORDIER/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images\* ## Overcooked Ocean temperatures are steadily climbing, turning coastal waters into steaming — and deadly — hot tubs. And that's not some loose analogy to describe the very real dangers of climate change. Earlier this year, sensor buoys off the coast of Florida registered temperatures in [excess of 100 degrees Fahrenheit](), around the average temperature of a literal hut tub. The effects of these blistering temperatures have been devastating to local marine life, as well as freshwater life further inland. Most recently, more than 150 pink river dolphins died in Lake Tefé in Brazil's Amazonas state, a tragedy that's startling scientists and conservationists. As [*The Washington Post* reports](), the catastrophe was likely triggered by climate change's soaring temps. ## Dying Dolphins Water temperatures in the remote lake reached a terrifying 102 degrees Fahrenheit, roughly 59 degrees higher than the average of any body of water in the Amazon, per the newspaper. Water levels have also hit worrying lows as a result. "It is common for communities to run into a dead dolphin or two at some point," Claudia Sacramento, head of the Environmental Emergencies Division at the governmental Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, told the *WP*. "Usually they’re just old or sick. But we had never seen something like this before." It may also be a compound issue; researchers are now investigating whether biotoxins or viruses may have also had something to do with the die-off. But the most straightforward solution to this puzzle is the rapidly heating water, a terrifying new reality that comes courtesy of global warming. In fact, the waters are so hot that the dolphin carcasses are decomposing at a speed such that scientists barely have any time to bring them to a lab to figure out what their exact cause of death was, per *WaPo*. "We’re provoking this ourselves," Adriana Colosio, a veterinarian from the Humpback Whale Institute, told *WaPo*. "If something bad happens to the dolphins, we are next." **More on hot waters:** *[Florida's Ocean Now Officially the Temperature of a Hot Tub]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()