The impact of global warming on animals largely "underestimated"

According to a new study, climate change would put at risk almost half of terrestrial mammals and a quarter of birds.

The impact of climate warming on biodiversity has already been proven. But according to a new study, these effects are dangerously underestimated. In fact, climate change would put at risk almost half of terrestrial mammals and a quarter of birds.

To arrive at this alarming conclusion, the scientists studied demographic curves, reproduction rates, geographical zones, climatic changes, and then extended their findings to the threatened species listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature ( IUCN).

"We estimate that 47% of the 873 threatened non-flying land mammals are already suffering the negative consequences of global warming," the study says. Similarly for "23.4% of the 1,272 species of threatened birds.

Primates and elephants directly threatened

Thus, the damage is already observable for "a large number" of species. Primates and elephants are among the most concerned, especially because they do not reproduce quickly and adapt slowly to rapid environmental changes, highlight the work published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Professor James Watson of the University of Queensland, who participated in the study, insists Science Daily on "the massive underestimation" of the immediate consequences of climate change. Because "only 7% of mammals and 4% of birds" threatened immediately by global warming would be listed on IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species.

Hence the urgency, insists Professor Watson, to "communicate on the impacts of global warming to a wider audience." "We need to make sure that decision-makers know what to do to stop multiple species extinctions," he adds.

Climate change can affect animals by limiting their access to water or food, spreading disease or reducing habitat. At the end of 2015, 195 nations adopted the Paris agreement to limit warming below the 2 ° C threshold compared to the Industrial Revolution, a disruption largely generated by the burning of fossil fuels.

But for scientists, this limit is still very high, and the national commitments made at this stage insufficient. "Climate change is no longer a distant threat," the report concludes.

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