Alaska sweltered this summer

Even fish are feeling the effects of Alaska’s unusually warm summer weather, which has run between 20 and 30 C this summer.

Because rivers are running low, some salmon were prevented from going upstream to spawn, said Lee Hammarstrom, a commercial fisheries biologist for the lower Cook Inlet near Anchorage.

“That could affect the future production of salmon,” he said.

Fish were also plainly stressed by the heat, he told the Anchorage Daily News.

On the other hand, squash, pumpkins and cucumbers were thriving, with an Alaskan producing the world’s largest cantaloupe, a 64.8 lb. melon.

The melon was so big it took two people to carry it.