Image: Reuters
Rapid ice melting in 2022 killed all chicks in four colonies in the Bellingshausen Sea, according to a study by the British Antarctic Survey. Satellite images showed that the areas of ice used by penguins as breeding grounds had disappeared before the chicks could develop their waterproof plumage.
The complete breeding failure is a direct consequence of the unprecedented loss of sea ice that has been recorded in the region in recent years due to climate change, the researchers led by Peter Fretwell write in the journal Communications Earth & Environment. If global warming continues, 90% of all emperor penguins are likely to be extinct by the end of the century.
Source: Nachrichten
