On 24 June the Norwich Evening News reported that fish were found dead and dying in the River Yare in Norfolk. Sadly it appears that this was not a one off event. In the same week, hundreds of dead fish were found floating on the surface of the River Cam, and similar events were reported by the local press in Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire, Yorkshire and Kent.
The most likely cause given by the Environment Agency was a low level of dissolved oxygen in the water due to hot weather, in conjunction with thunderstorms which lower atmospheric pressure. Heavy rainfall also flushes high levels of nutrients into river water which cause proliferation of algae and cyanobacteria, also lowering oxygen levels.
It is distressing to witness such events, but they are likely to become more common as the climate warms and are a warning sign. We can all do something positive to address the climate and biodiversity crisis, and it is incidents such as these that remind us there is no time to waste.
Kind Regards
Eleanor Laming
