Rivers vanishing into thin air: this is what the climate crisis looks like | David Suzuki

A Canadian river was the first observed case of 'river piracy'. When nature's thresholds are passed, landscapes can transform in the blink of an eye

The Slims river in northern Canada gained infamy, not for its fishing or pristine waters, but for vanishing in a matter of four days in May 2016. This week we learned that it fell victim to "river piracy" - and climate change was almost certainly to blame.

The river - which stretched up to 150 meters at its widest points and averaged depths around three meters - lost its water source to another nearby river during a period of intense melting affecting one of Canada's largest glaciers. As a result, the Slims was reduced to a trickle in less than a week.