The Slow Squeeze: Climate Change's Steady Grip on River Oxygen Climate change is no longer a distant threat, but a pressing reality already affecting the world's rivers.
A new study has tracked deoxygenation – the loss of oxygen – across over 21,000 rivers globally since 1985, revealing a stark picture of what we can expect from our warming planet.
The science behind this phenomenon is straightforward: warmer water holds less oxygen. As global temperatures rise due to human caused climate change, so too does the amount of oxygen released into the atmosphere.