These shocking images show thousands of dead fish for as far as the eye can see washed up on the shores of a lagoon in Argentina.

The grim scene was filmed by Twitter user Marcos Mian at the edge of Laguna del Plata (La Plata Lagoon) in Vera y Pintado, Santa Fe Province.

But locals have ruled out a chemical spill or a mass infection as the cause of the disaster.

Instead, they say, it was caused by climate-change traits like higher temperatures and lower rainfall.

The mass deaths are believed to have been caused by a severe drought affecting several parts of the country.

The weather conditions reportedly caused a drop in oxygen levels in the lagoon, starving the fish of oxygen.

A local campsite owner told local media: “The only problem is the inclement weather, the water evaporates and heats up due to the high temperatures.

“Two days ago we had 43 degrees [Celsius] and the water practically boiled.”

Incredibly – he said – due to the lack of rain, “there are no live fish left in the lagoon”.

The effects of the drought have been felt elsewhere in Argentina, too.

The lagoons of El Palmar and El Cristal, also in Santa Fe Province, have completely dried up.

Argentine media report that 175,125,097 hectares have been affected by the lack of rainfall.