July 15, 2021 — California officials warned this week that salmon in the state’s Sacramento River might not survive the region’s historic drought.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said that “nearly all” of the endangered winter-run Chinook salmon’s juveniles might not make it through the season, according to The Sacramento Bee.
The publication reported Wednesday that a final blow, after two years of “severe mortality during the last drought,” would risk the extinction of the species — even though the agency has hauled millions of the Chinook salmon to Bay Area waters as a precaution.
Triple-digit temperatures have plagued the West, killing hundreds of people in the last major heat wave. The severe conditions have exacerbated the climate-driven “megadrought,” leading to less water and less streamflow.