This year could see the biggest “dead zone” since records began form in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Scientists say conditions are right for the zone to exceed last summer’s 6,662 sq miles (17,255 sq km).
The dead zone is an area of water virtually devoid of oxygen which cannot support marine life.
It is caused by nutrients such as fertilisers flowing into the Gulf, stimulating the growth of algae which absorbs the available oxygen.
The volume of nutrients flowing down rivers such as the Mississippi into the Gulf has tripled over the last 50 years.
The annual event has been blamed for shark attacks along the Gulf coast, as sharks, along with other highly mobile species, flee the inhospitable waters.
Animals which cannot move simply die.
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