Ever since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005 with its Category 5 strength, dolphins that called those coastal waters home have been dying from a painful skin disease.

Scientists have devoted years to studying the deceased mammals blanketed with crusty, pus-filled lesions in the hopes of finding the cause of the condition.

Now, 15 years later, researchers at The Marine Mammal Center in California — the world’s largest marine mammal hospital — together with colleagues in Australia have discovered what’s causing the devastating disease in coastal dolphins worldwide: climate change.

Storms like Hurricane Katrina are becoming more frequent and severe as global temperatures rise. These storms pour large volumes of rain over saltwater oceans, slowly turning them into freshwater reservoirs.

Read more: yahoo