Mexico City (AP) — When numerous birds perished along Mexico’s Pacific coast earlier this year, experts immediately suspected avian flu as the culprit.
However, the government announced on Thursday that the mass die-off was not caused by bird flu but rather the warming ocean currents associated with El Niño.
The Mexican Agriculture Department disclosed that tests conducted on the deceased birds indicated starvation as the cause of death, not the flu.
The department explained that the warming surface water in the Pacific, caused by El Niño, prompts fish to move into deeper, cooler waters, making it more challenging for birds to locate food.
The majority of the affected birds were Sooty Shearwaters, seagulls, and pelicans. They perished in various states, spanning from Chiapas on the Guatemala border to Baja California in the north and west.
“Autopsies performed by veterinarians and specialized biologists revealed that the animals died due to starvation,” stated the department. “The most likely cause of this epidemiological event is the warming of Pacific waters caused by the meteorological phenomenon El Niño, which forces fish to seek deeper, colder waters, thus impeding marine birds from accessing their food source.”
El Niño is a naturally occurring, temporary, and intermittent phenomenon characterized by the warming of a portion of the Pacific Ocean, causing significant changes in global weather patterns.
According to climate scientist Michelle L’Heureux from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, El Niño formed this year, appearing a month or two earlier than its typical onset. This early development provides an extended period for its intensification. There is a 56% probability that this El Niño event will be classified as strong, and a 25% chance that it may reach unusually large proportions.
