A million species of animals and plants are in danger of extinction within 50 years

Global warming / gloomy forecast

Yuval Dror

Direct link to this page: https://www.hayadan.org.il/miliondestinct.html

Global warming - caused in part by the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere - will bring to the brink of extinction more than a million species and varieties of the animals and plants growing on the planet in about 50 years.
This is according to a new study published yesterday in the scientific journal Nature. "The study reveals that the biggest extinction threat is climate change," said Lee Hanna of the International Conservation Organization in Washington who participated in the study.

Guy Midgley, from the National Botanical Institute of South Africa, said that the results of the study indicate that in some cases the climate change is so dramatic that in some cases the various species will have no place to escape to in order to stay alive and in other cases, the places suitable for living will be too far away for them to reach. "Certain species are expected to survive, but the number of areas suitable for living will decrease. Therefore, in the areas where the different species will congregate, they will be exposed to threats from other animals or plants." According to Alison Cameron, from the University of Leeds, the animal and plant communities we know today will not exist in 50 years.

Global warming has different effects on life.
The new study is the first attempt of its kind to identify the possible effects on the extinction of animals and plants that grow on or above the land (it is not about marine animals).

Scientists from different countries in the world from the fields of biology, environment, geography and more participated in the research.

The researchers chose 1,103 species of plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs, butterflies and other vertebrates and checked what will happen to their habitat in 2050 - in the continents of Australia and Europe and in the countries of Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. These areas represent about a fifth of the total land area on Earth.

After determining which species and regions to test, the researchers used three different models whose job it is to predict how much the Earth will warm in the next 50 years. They divided the results into three groups: mild warming (0.8-1.7 degrees Celsius), moderate warming (2.0-1.8 degrees Celsius) and high warming (above 2.0 degrees Celsius).

Using computer models, the researchers checked how and where the tested species would move so that they could adapt themselves and their habitat to the changing climatic environment. The researchers took into account two possibilities: the first - that in certain areas the animals or plants will not be able to "escape" from the area where they live. The second possibility is that the tested species will be able to move in any direction and with complete success. The results are quite scary. It turns out that if the model that predicts only moderate warming is the model that will actually occur, then 37-15% of the species in the tested areas will be on the verge of extinction in 2050.

According to the researchers, although not all areas on Earth have been tested, a similar occurrence of bringing animals and plants to the brink of extinction will also occur in other areas.

"Extending the results of our research to all species of animals and plants growing on the planet reveals that more than a million species and varieties are expected to be at risk of extinction as a result of climate change," said Chris Thomas from the University of Leeds in the UK, who was the scientist who led the study.

The study provides many examples of animal and plant species that will be at risk of extinction. For example, there are currently about 400 different species of butterflies living on the continent of Australia, and about 200 of them never leave the surface of the land.

The researchers looked at what would happen to the habitat of 24 of these species. The results show that 21 of the butterfly species will no longer be able to live in their current habitats, and 11 of them will be in danger of extinction.

If the Earth warms by more than two degrees Celsius, the exotic reptile, known as Boyd's forest dragon and living in the Queensland region of Australia, will find that 90% of the areas where it roams are no longer suitable for living - a fact that may endanger its existence. In other areas there is a danger to other species.

In Mexico, for example, there is a danger to the existence of two species of squirrels, one species of mice, two species of owls and several species of birds.

In South Africa, many species of shrubs, trees and flowers are expected to be endangered. In the European continent, several species of birds are expected to be in danger of extinction.

According to the study, the danger is increasing as the chances increase that the birds will not be able to leave the continent and migrate to new habitats.

However, according to the researchers, the number of endangered species will decrease dramatically if humanity succeeds in reducing the greenhouse effect and global warming.

"Immediately and aggressively replacing old technologies with modern technologies that do not emit greenhouse gases, together with active combating the levels of carbon dioxide that exist in the atmosphere, could save a million and more species that would be in danger of extinction," said Chris Thomas from the University of Leeds.

A special editorial recently published by the editors of the journal "Nature" supports this claim. According to the journal's editorial, the study highlights the need to curb global warming.

"The threat to life on Earth is not a future threat. He is here and now," the article reads.

Environmentalist - Earth
They know endangered animals
For news at the BBC

https://www.hayadan.org.il/BuildaGate4/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~~~733214099~~~32&SiteName=hayadan