Australia is in the grip of the heat. The very high temperatures are unfortunately literally wreaking havoc on animals, from bats to fish
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himAustralia is in the grip of the heat. The very high temperatures are unfortunately literally wreaking havoc on animals, from bats to fish.
The country, in the height of summer, is experiencing a heat wave without precedent. There is talk of temperatures above 42 °. Fish that live in rivers are dying, unable to withstand these extreme temperatures. Same thing goes for bats.
Index
Massacre of flying foxes
In just two days, at least 23.000 spectacled flying foxes (Pteropus conspicillatus), a species of bat that lives in the country, died in the northern part of Australia. Until November 2018, Australia had around 75.000 of them but at least a third were suddenly wiped out by the recordo heat. Researchers at Western Sydney University believe the number of dead bats could be even higher.
With temperatures above 40 ° it is no wonder: the animals have just fallen down from the trees, electrocuted by heat stroke. Some residents have had to leave their homes due to bad smells from the thousands of rotting bat carcasses.
In Australia this event was the second largest mass extermination of flying foxes ever recorded and the first of this particular species.
The ecologist. Justin Welbergen, president of the Australian Bat Society, explained, “It is clear from climate change projections that this type of heat event is set to intensify in the future. Such an extreme event can be partly attributed to climate change ”.
"This is an unprecedented and shocking event due to heat stress", he said Evan Quartermain di Humane Society International a The Guardian.
To make the situation even more serious is the fact that in this period many children are born, who have been orphaned from the first days of life.
Fish die-off
In addition to bats, hundreds of thousands of fish including herring (Nematalosa erebi), golden and silver perch (Macquaria ambigua and Bidyanus bidyanus, respectively) and Murray's cod (Maccullochella peelii), have died in Australia's Darling River due to extreme weather conditions. In addition to record temperatures, Australia suffered periods of intense drought, causing water levels to fall and warm. All this has favored the appearance of cyanobacteria, which even if they did not directly kill the fish, have depleted the water of oxygen.
Foto: NSW Department of Primary Industries via The Guardian
On Tuesday, January 15, the Australian state government announced a plan to install 16 battery-powered aerators across the region's drought-stricken waterways in hopes of increasing oxygen levels. Clearly this is a solution that will not solve the problem.
Death of horses
The horses were not spared from the extreme heat wave either. About 90 wild horses are found dead inland, according to authorities. Rangers found dead or dying animals in a drained pool of water near Alice Springs last week. About 40 of them had already died from dehydration and starvation.
Extreme heat, out of the ordinary. The effects of climate change are being felt very hard.
READ also:
- Climate changes in the Mediterranean: they are more serious than previously thought. I study
- 10 events that will make you admit the existence of climate change in your home
- In 2030 we will pass the point of no return to save the Earth, word of the world's leading experts
Francesca Mancuso
