2015 Had a Record Number of Shark Attacks. Here's Why.
Ninety-eight people were bitten by sharks last year and six were killed, but experts say it's not time to panic.
The numbers are in. Spurred by warm water, 2015 set a new record for shark attacks around the world, with 98 incidents, including six human fatalities.
That total is 26 more than the previous year and 40 more than the figure from one decade prior.
According to the International Shark Attack File, the main drivers for the rise in incidents were warm water from El Niño and global warming (2015 was also the hottest year on record), a lack of severe storms in most developed countries, and a relatively strong economy that sent more vacationers to the beach.
Those factors combined to put more people in the path of sharks, which prefer to avoid people and don't target them
