Top Posts
Death toll from Mokwa flood rises to 153
Scientists say nearly 40% of the world’s glaciers...
Nigerian government seeks alignment of NDC climate action...
German court dismisses climate case against RWE
WHO Climate Change action plan approved
Report: World likely to breach 1.5°C limit in...
At Bonn climate talks, Brazil demands early deals...
Researchers warn Africa could face 113 million climate...
LAPO MfB launches tree-planting initiative to fight climate...
Stiell says new NDCs are about growth, antidote...
EcoNai Newsroom
  • Newsround
  • Nigeria
  • Africa
  • World
World

Expert warns climate change could force Emperor Penguins into extinction

by admineconai May 8, 2022
written by admineconai May 8, 2022
860

An expert from the Argentine Antarctic Institute (IAA) has warned that increasing climate change impact could force the emperor penguin, which roams Antarctica’s frozen tundra and chilly seas into extinction in the next 30 to 40 years.

Known as the world’s largest penguin and one of only two penguin species endemic to Antarctica, the emperor gives birth during the Antarctic winter and requires solid sea ice from April through December to nest fledgling chicks.

Biologist, Marcela Libertelli, who has studied 15,000 penguins across two colonies in Antarctica at the IAA, said that if the sea freezes later or melts prematurely, the emperor family cannot complete its reproductive cycle.

Read also: Public-private partnership key to meeting climate change targets— Jamaican Official

“If the water reaches the newborn penguins, which are not ready to swim and do not have waterproof plumage, they die of the cold and drown,” he said. “This has happened at the Halley Bay colony in the Weddell Sea, the second-largest emperor penguin colony, where for three years all the chicks died”.

Libertelli said that every August, in the middle of the southern hemisphere winter, he and other scientists at Argentina’s Marambio Base in Antarctica travel 65 km (40 miles) each day by motorbike in temperatures as low as -40 degrees Celsius (-40°F) to reach the nearest emperor penguin colony.

He explained that they count, weigh, and measure the chicks, gather geographical coordinates, and take blood samples as soon as they get there, adding that they also conduct aerial analysis.

He noted that their latest findings pointed to a grim future for the species if climate change is not mitigated.

“Climate projections suggest that the colonies that are located between latitudes 60 and 70 degrees [south] will disappear in the next few decades; that is, in the next 30, 40 years,” Libertelli said.

He maintained that the emperor penguin’s disappearance could have a dramatic impact throughout Antarctica, an extreme environment where food chains have fewer members and fewer links.

Recall that in early April, the World Meteorological Organization warned of “increasingly extreme temperatures coupled with unusual rainfall and ice melting in Antarctica”.

Story was adapted from Global News.

Climate changeEmperor PenguinsExperts
0 comment 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
admineconai

previous post
Public-private partnership key to meeting climate change targets— Jamaican Official
next post
Report shows climate change could displace families in Peru’s Amazonas

Related Posts

Scientists say nearly 40% of the world’s glaciers...

June 3, 2025

German court dismisses climate case against RWE

May 28, 2025

WHO Climate Change action plan approved

May 28, 2025

Report: World likely to breach 1.5°C limit in...

May 28, 2025

At Bonn climate talks, Brazil demands early deals...

May 23, 2025

Guterres raises alarm over rapid Himalayan glacier melt

May 17, 2025

Study shows two-thirds of global warming caused by...

May 8, 2025

Weather expert warns climate change to hit agriculture...

May 5, 2025

Trump dismisses authors of major climate report

April 30, 2025

New UN report shows Indigenous Peoples sidelined in...

April 25, 2025

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Newsletter

Subscribe my Newsletter for new blog posts, tips & new photos. Let's stay updated!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Bloglovin
  • Vimeo

@2021 - All Right Reserved. Designed and Developed by Eco-Nai+

EcoNai Newsroom
  • Newsround
  • Nigeria
  • Africa
  • World