An extreme, prolonged heat wave from Texas to Louisiana is helping fuel deadly southern storms that have resulted in the deaths of at least six people and left hundreds of thousands without power.
State of play: A series of tornadoes hit Mississippi overnight, killing at least one person, wounding almost two dozen others and leaving over 49,000 without power, officials said. The severe weather also caused outages for nearly 187,000 people in Oklahoma, almost 79,000 others in Texas and some 69,000 in Louisiana as of Monday evening, per utility tracker poweroutage.us.
This year is crucial for understanding the trajectory of the planet's marine life, experts say, as a combination of threatening factors lines up to test species' tolerance of warmer waters.
Why it matters: The effects of extreme heat on humans and other land-dwelling animals are well-documented. Less is known about their impact on the ocean's plants and animals, which underpin economies and help the ocean to regulate the planet's climate.
