Special report: A huge disruption to California's coastal ecosystem is under way after several years of unusually warm ocean conditions and drought.

Rural areas here have begun facing water scarcity much before the onset of summer. Villagers are going long distances by bullock carts to collect water in plastic drums. Day temperature is already high.

The peer-reviewed research published this week in the Public Library of Science suggests that 99% of the orcas studied had photographic evidence of skin lesions. Researchers evaluated photos from nearly 20,000 orca sightings from 2004 to 2016, finding that lesions — often gray patches and gray targets on the orcas' skin — generally became more prevalent over time.

State officials estimate that 16.8 million fish will have to be trucked from the four state-run hatcheries through the beginning of June, about 20% more than in a normal year. Hatchery managers were able to release the majority of their juveniles upriver before they deemed river conditions too dicey to proceed.

A gray whale carcass washed ashore at Crissy Field on Wednesday morning. Veterinarians and biologists from the center and from the California Academy of Sciences plan to perform a necropsy in coming days on the island to determine the cause of death.

More domestic and wild birds in Montana are being tested for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or bird flu, state officials said on Friday. Since then, wildlife officials have received wild birds for disease testing daily, she said. A snow goose from Freezeout Lake in Teton County has been confirmed as positive for the virus. Ducks, pigeons, wild turkeys and red-tailed hawks are being tested now.

Increasing blanket of mucus-like substance in water threatens coral and fishing industry

Late on the afternoon of Nov. 18, Kathy Marche, birding in Stephenville, came across a very colorful bird unfamiliar to her. She took photos but had to wait until she got home to look up the identification.

Federal officials declared a water shortage for the Hoover Dam’s Lake Mead, the largest water reservoir in the US. It will trigger mandatory water cuts to several western states starting next year.

A blob menacing Hawaii is now visible from space. A massive heatwave in the Pacific Ocean is killing off coral. Satellites are capturing the destruction so that scientists can learn how to rebuild the reefs.

Air quality sinks to hazardous levels as biggest cloud seen in a generation swamps region after transatlantic journey

A prolonged heatwave in Siberia is “undoubtedly alarming”, climate scientists have said. The freak temperatures have been linked to wildfires, a huge oil spill and a plague of tree-eating moths.

All-time records in Germany and Luxembourg could also fall in latest continent-wide heatwave

Rockfall buries access road but stops just in front of hamlet, which had been evacuated in anticipation.

One of southern Africa’s biggest tourist attractions has seen an unprecedented decline this dry season, fuelling climate change fears

Robert Prescott, of the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, believes a warming trend allowed the turtles to delay their migration south.

Sweden worst hit as hot, dry summer sparks unusual number of fires, with at least 11 in the far north.

Declining fertility and rising mortality, exacerbated by fishing industry, prompts experts to warn whales could be extinct by 2040

Areas starved of oxygen in open ocean and by coasts have soared in recent decades, risking dire consequences for marine life and humanity