Thousands of seabirds die off the west coast of the United States... “It is assumed that starvation is due to El Niño.”

Abnormal weather is being blamed as the mass death of thousands of seabirds continues along the west coast of the United States.

The American daily New York Times (NYT) reported on the 10th (local time) that thousands of dead seabirds have been piling up on the coast between San Francisco, California and Los Angeles (LA) in recent months.

On one coast alone, 1,900 dead seabirds and 750 in need of treatment have been found since September of this year. This is a 22-fold increase compared to the same period last year.

Following the mass death of brown pelicans and cormorants this spring, mass deaths of puffins have been observed in the fall.

“We are seeing signs in seabirds that something is really wrong,” said JD Bergeron, head of Bird Rescue International, referring to the “canary in the coal mine”.

Although the exact cause has not been confirmed, starvation due to El Niño is considered one of the causes.

El Niño refers to a phenomenon in which sea surface temperatures near the equator become higher than normal, and this year is known to be the worst on record.

In the case of puffins, they catch and eat small fish in the water, but with the record-breaking rise in sea temperatures, their prey has moved to colder, deeper waters, and the birds appear to be having difficulty feeding.

Pacific Wildlife Care, a wildlife hospital located on the Moro Coast, said it treated the highest number of seabirds this year in the 40 years since it was founded.

Since September, 924 puffins have been rescued, most of which were found starving and emaciated. Hospitalizations of western grebes have also increased significantly in recent weeks.

The situation is likely to worsen in the future.

El Niño is expected to reach its peak between October and December this year, and the California state government has already preemptively declared a state of emergency.

Tammy Russell, an ecologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, said El Niño is likely to cause large-scale damage to more species in the coming months as ocean temperatures continue to rise.