Climate change is no longer just a story of rising temperatures, it is directly threatening the Earth’s biodiversity. A new study has warned that if global warming continues at this pace, more than one-third of animal habitats on land could be vulnerable to extreme climate events by 2085. The greatest threat is to those areas that are rich in biodiversity, such as the Amazon Basin, Africa and South-East Asia including India.
This study has been published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, in which it is clearly stated that threats like heatwave, forest fire, drought and flood will increase rapidly. However, there is also a ray of hope. If emissions are rapidly reduced to ‘net zero’, then these dangers can be avoided to a great extent.
The study, led by scientists from Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, analyzed climate forecasts and species data. It also included important data like IUCN Red List.
What other things were revealed in the research?
Stephanie Heinicke, the study’s lead researcher, warned: “I think climate change, and especially extreme events, are still being significantly underestimated in conservation planning. It won’t just be a gradual rise in temperatures over many years.” That is, the danger is not only of gradually increasing temperatures, but of sudden and repeated disasters, which together can cause more damage.
Research also revealed that when extreme events happen one after the other, their impact increases manifold. For example, there was a drought before the massive fires in Australia in 2019-2020, due to which the decline in plant and animal species was 27 to 40 percent.
The study analyzed 33,936 terrestrial vertebrate species and 794 ecological regions. The results are shocking, as by 2050, in a medium-high emissions scenario, an average of 74% of the species’ current habitat area could be vulnerable to heatwaves. Whereas 16% area will be in danger of forest fire, 8% drought and 3% flood.
Areas rich in biodiversity are most at risk
The greatest threat is to those areas that are rich in biodiversity, such as the Amazon Basin, Africa and South-East Asia including India. That means where there are the most species, the biggest crisis is also looming.
The study also shows that by 2050 there will be 22 ecological regions where more than half will be at risk of two or more extreme events. This number may increase to 236 by 2085. The final conclusion is even more serious, by 2085 36% of the inhabited areas will be affected by multiple types of extreme weather phenomena simultaneously.
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