U.S. Historic heat wave cook fish in the river

This summer a severe heat wave in the United States has had tragic consequences for the environment. Biologists working to protect the Columbia River, which runs through the northwestern states of Washington and Oregon, have found record temperatures cooking salmon living in the region.

In a video released last Wednesday, the 28th, a school appears with serious injuries on the scales. Fish from the Pacific Ocean usually form on the Columbia River at this time of year. The problem is that in July, in the northwestern part of the country, where the weather is mild, thermometers read 49ºC.

Wounds, scientists say, because the water temperature has never been higher. Biologists say the wounds are very deep and the fish should not live long.

A heat wave off the west coast of the United States and Canada this summer has killed at least 500 people. It is a record in at least a dozen states where 22,000 firefighters are focused on trying to contain the blaze. Scientists say more than 1 billion marine animals may have been exposed to unusual temperatures.