Rapidly melting Arctic sea ice is causing a decline in the food supply for Pacific gray whales, leading to a potential catastrophic die-off.

Pacific grey whales facing ‘catastrophic’ die-off as climate crisis hits food supply https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/10/pacific-gray-whales-population-climate-change 🐋 #Cetaceans #MarineMammals #MarineLife #MarineBiology #Whales #Science #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

The Pacific gray whale population has plummeted from 20,000 to under 13,000 since 2019. Scientists warn that rapidly melting Arctic sea ice is decimating their food supply and triggering a catastrophic die-off from starvation. 📊🐋👇 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/10/pacific-gray-whales-population-climate-change

Climate change is driving a gray whale “catastrophic mortality event” in the Pacific Ocean as melting sea ice depletes food sources and the animals starve, environmental groups warn. Meanwhile, a range of other issues, like ship strikes, oil spills, microplastic pollution, algal blooms and Russian harvesting are also probably contributing to the die-off that has nearly halved the whales’ estimated population. It fell from 20,000 in 2019 to fewer than 13,000 this year, and the deaths appear to be accelerating. Environmental groups have petitioned the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) to relist the gray whale under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which would alleviate some problems, but its approval is a long shot as the Trump administration moves to gut wildlife protections. The whales are in “very, very serious trouble”, said Rick Steiner, an Alaska marine ecologist and chair of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility’s (Peer’s) board of directors. “The stranding numbers last year and this year are enormous compared to their annual average,” Steiner said. “Stranding” is the term for whales that wash up onshore. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/10/pacific-gray-whales-population-climate-change?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other