With the Pacific region hitting record-setting temperatures in the last few weeks, a new study from Canada shows the heat waves’ enormous impact on marine life:An estimated1 billion sea creatures on the coast of Vancouverhave died as a result of the heat, a researchersaid.

But that number is likely to be much higher, said professor Christopher Harley from the University of British Columbia.

“I’ve been working in the Pacific Northwest for most of the past 25 years, and I have not seen anything like this here,” he said. “This is far more extensive than anything I’ve ever seen.”

Harley reaches his estimates by counting the number of sea creatures, mostly mussels, in a section that he said is representative of an entire beach. He varies measuring some beaches that are rocky and some that are not to get a full estimate for the entire ecosystem.

“This is a preliminary estimate based on good data, but […]