Bergeron said one theory is that small schooling fish \u2014 favorite food for shore birds \u2014 are seeking colder water deeper in the ocean, beyond the birds\u2019 reach. So they do not have enough food to eat.\u00a0\u201cWe have had very regular concerns with brown pelican starvation events, but this one does feel a little bit different,\u201d Bergeron said. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a lot more dead birds than living ones being found.\u201d<\/p>\n
The current ocean warming\u00a0began last May<\/a> near Eastern Asia and spread across the Pacific.\u00a0Some waters have had little break since mid-2025, with more than 200 days of elevated temperatures, according to researchers with Climate Central, who said\u00a0human-caused climate change has significantly intensified the marine heat wave<\/a>.<\/p>\n Up to 45% of the ocean impacted \u201cis experiencing conditions that are at least six times more likely due to human-caused warming,\u201d Climate Central said.\u00a0Without climate change, they wrote, the heat wave\u2019s footprint would be 36% smaller.<\/p>\n An El Ni\u00f1o event can weaken winds and slow the upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water, which could further intensify the marine heat wave. Without that strong mixing, warm water lingers at the surface, causing temperatures to spike.\u00a0\u201cAll the ingredients are there for a strong El Ni\u00f1o,\u201d said Tom Di Liberto, media director and climate scientist with Climate Central. \u201cIf you\u2019re making cookies, you\u2019ve already mixed the dough, but haven\u2019t baked them yet. We still have to wait to see if, in the summer months, these cookies get put in the oven to see if we have that strong El Ni\u00f1o form.\u201d<\/p>\n Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman gained enough votes by Sunday evening to edge out reality TV personality Spencer Pratt, putting her in second-place for now in the closely-watched race.<\/p>\n The L.A. City Council member and the reality star are separated by about 3,100 votes in the race for a runoff spot against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in November. Votes are still being counted, and the L.A. County Registrar of Voters will receive ballots postmarked by Election Day up until seven days later.<\/p>\n On election night, Pratt had collected enough votes to put him squarely in the second spot, with a significant lead over Raman.\u00a0But by late Friday, Raman had gone from just over 20% of the vote on election night to about 25%. Meanwhile, Pratt lost a couple of percentage points since Tuesday night\u2019s early returns.<\/p>\n Paul Mitchell, a Democratic strategist whose company tracks ballot return data, said Republicans were reflected heavily in the early returns, but as the vote counts continues, more Democrats will be represented.<\/p>\n