The Other Victims of Climate Change

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You can’t open a newspaper or watch the news without hearing something about climate change on a daily basis. What was once thought of as a far off threat has become a very real, very dangerous part of our everyday lives. Climate change is wreaking havoc in many ways across the world by increasing global surface temperatures, which can lead to devastating droughts as well as increasing the intensity of tropical storms. In addition, long-term effects include rising sea levels and powerful erosion caused by waves and currents.

“There are a host of animals who may soon face extinction due to climate change.”

And as much as we hear about the terrible effects of climate change, we also learn about the many things humans are doing to counteract it, from developing sustainable energy sources to cut greenhouse gas emissions to reducing plastic usage. But there are many more victims than just humans that stand to suffer from climate change, victims who have played no role in creating it and who cannot do anything to combat it: animals.

From having their habitats obliterated by land fires to rising seas making it difficult to carry out mating patterns, there are a host of animals who may soon face extinction due to climate change. For example, the Adelie penguin, one of only two Antarctic penguins, has suffered an 80% decline in its population, which scientists are attributing to changes in sea temperature, food availability and lack of nesting sites.

“Polar bears are going inland for food, a terrain they’re not adjusted to.”

Nobody can forget that haunting image of the starving polar bear that swept the internet. As the ice on which the animals live and hunt is disappearing, polar bears are going inland for food, a terrain they’re not adjusted to.

One of the worst stories is that of the golden toad (bufo periglenes), originally of Central America, which has gone extinct, and many scientists are blaming climate change for having killed off their mountaintop cloud forest habitats.

While one or two extinctions may not seem that extreme, scientists are urgent to express that any extinction is a sign that we need to take immediate and drastic action to battle climate change—for humans, for animals, and for the health of the earth.

Victims of Climate Change Comprehension

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