Warmer water causes mass crab deaths

PHOTO: EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

Thousands of dead tuna crabs line the shore at California's Laguna Beach after succumbing to the effects of warmer ocean temperatures. The mass die-off may have been caused by the El Nino phenomenon.

There is an 85 per cent chance that El Nino, a warming of the equatorial Pacific Ocean and a change in the atmosphere above the ocean, will persist into January and beyond, the US Climate Prediction Centre has said.

The weather pattern poses a risk to the global economy in the second half of the year as it may hurt crops and boost world food inflation, Citigroup said in a report on Tuesday.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 18, 2015, with the headline Warmer water causes mass crab deaths. Subscribe