Emperor penguins could disappear by the end of the century

A new study has revealed that emperor penguins could be extinct by the turn of the century, according to a team of researchers in the journal Biological Conservation. This species, the largest among penguins, could not cope with the consequences of climate change, which would affect them in a fatal way with the melting of the Antarctic. A previous study calculated that, taking into account the increase in temperature of the air and the oceans, by 2100 its population would have reduced to 19%. But this new study also takes into account other factors, such as the individual attitudes of penguins to climate change or the variation of their migratory routes. The data indicate that in the next 20 years the population will be stable, even increasing slightly. But from 2050 the specimens will reduce to the point that none remain by the end of the century. Researchers say that declaring the Emperor penguin "endangered species" to increase its protection could be the only way to save it in time.