Climate Change Is Fueling a 5,000-Square-Mile ‘Dead Zone’ in the Gulf of Mexico
Global warming doesn’t just mean scorching temperatures and rising sea levels. It also means the death of oceans, lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water. Dead zones—areas in the water that are low on oxygen—are on the rise around the world due to a double-whammy of hotter temperatures and increased pollution, leading to the death of marine life and turning once vibrant habitats into hypoxic deserts.
Scientists have been monitoring one such dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico—considered the largest in U.S. waters—for over three decades. On June 2, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the Gulf of Mexico dead zone is expected to reach 5,364 square miles (or about eight times the size of the city of Houston) this year. This forecast is only a smidge lower than the five-year average of 5,380 square miles, and about 15 percent smaller than last year’s measurement. But it's still nowhere close to the federal-state target of 1,900 square miles set in 2001.
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Scientists have been monitoring one such dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico—considered the largest in U.S. waters—for over three decades. On June 2, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the Gulf of Mexico dead zone is expected to reach 5,364 square miles (or about eight times the size of the city of Houston) this year. This forecast is only a smidge lower than the five-year average of 5,380 square miles, and about 15 percent smaller than last year’s measurement. But it's still nowhere close to the federal-state target of 1,900 square miles set in 2001.
Click Here to read more.