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.
It’s also dangerous because the hot water causes vasodilation, and combined with alcohol it’s much easier to get light headed and pass out or otherwise injure yourself. Many people die this way. Also shouldn’t have sex in the hot tub, and there’s a whole list of reasons for that which I will let you research on your own.
Ah okay, I’ll do my drinking after the hot tub then. Or instead of it since I don’t even own one