Professor Lloyd Peck of the British Antarctic Survey says warming seas are putting polar ecosystems at serious risk, with lasting consequences.
“If the Earth warms up, the first places to disappear are the cold ones,” he said, warning that once these environments are lost, they cannot be restored.
New research shows the penguin population in Antarctica has declined by 22% — more than double previous estimates— due to dramatic losses of sea ice vital for breeding and survival.
Earlier satellite data in 2018 suggested losses were under 10%, but scientists have revised the figure in light of rapid environmental changes.
Without urgent global action, researchers say emperor penguins could face extinction by the end of the century.
