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findings. This was the case with a 2017 study by Australian re-
searchers, who found that the negative impacts of climate change
on wildlife have been massively underestimated. According to this
research, at least seven hundred bird and mammal species have
been affected by climate change, including many already on the
endangered species list. Lead researcher James Watson notes
that most climate change research has focused on effects fifty
or even one hundred years in the future. The new study differs in
that it shows that climate change is already a major threat to hun-
dreds of species. Watson says it is a “scientific problem in that we
are not thinking about climate change as a present-day problem,
we’re always forecasting into the future.” He adds, “When you
look at the evidence, there is a massive amount of impact right
now.”
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A staggering array of wildlife, including animals on every conti-
nent, was found to be threatened by climate change. Those iden-
tified included elephants, eastern gorillas, snow leopards, and a
wide variety of birds. Particularly hard hit by the effects of a warm-
ing climate were animals with highly specialized diets and those
that live in high altitudes, like the snow leopards, which live in the
mountains of central Asia. But the researchers found that even
animals with a wide range of diet are suffering from massive de-
clines. “We have seriously underestimated the effects of climate
change on the most well-known groups,” says Watson. For other
species such as reptiles, amphibians, and fish, he continues, “the
story is going to be much, much worse in terms of what we think
the threat is from climate change already.”
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Watson emphasizes
that it is vital for climate change to be addressed as a significant
threat to wildlife now, rather than something that could happen
years from now.
An Uncertain Future
Earth’s climate is getting hotter, and most scientists agree that
this is not a product of nature. The rapidly warming planet in-
cludes not only the temperature of the land but also the oceans,
which are also becoming warmer. This is wreaking havoc with all
