Hundreds of thousands of mussels cooked to death on New Zealand beach in heatwave

Northland residents describe 'heartbreaking' find as experts warn climate crisis could make it a more frequent sight

Hundreds of thousands of mussels have been cooked to death on a beach in New Zealand's North Island, with experts saying more will die as the effects of the climate crisis accelerate.

The mass die-off in Northland was sparked by "an exceptional period of warm weather" combined with low tides in the middle of the day, which had exposed the shellfish, said Dr Andrew Jeffs, a marine scientist from the University of Auckland.