Emperor penguins predicted disaster due to the sharp melting of Antarctic ice

Emperor penguins have experienced their first “widespread breeding failure” due to record low levels of sea ice in Antarctica, confirming predictions that the species will be nearly extinct by 2100, scientists have warned.

Last year, the ice sheet around Antarctica – the floating ice on which emperor penguins brood and raise their chicks – sank to its lowest level on record, Sky News reports.

The ice is usually stable from around April to late December, and the chicks fledge around mid to late December.

But when the ice breaks early, presumably due to warmer seas, the chicks are more likely to drown or freeze to death because they haven’t grown waterproof feathers yet or aren’t ready to fledge.

Emperor penguins live only in Antarctica, where it is completely dark in winter and the temperature drops to -50 degrees Celsius.

In the Bellingshausen Sea, all the sea ice had melted by November of last year, long before the chicks had waterproof feathers, meaning they would drown or freeze to death.

According to an article published recently in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, four of the five colonies in the region likely did not survive a single chick.

The study’s lead author, Dr Peter Fretwell of the British Antarctic Survey, called it “catastrophic”.

“We’ve never seen emperor penguins breed on such a scale in one season,” the scientist admits.

His team tracked the colonies using satellite imagery that showed patches of penguin feces on the bright white surface of the ice.

Dr. Fretwell called the largest of the penguin species a “window” to Antarctica, whose white surface cools the world by reflecting the sun’s heat, and whose currents affect weather patterns elsewhere.

“By reducing sea ice, we will change the weather in many places around the world, and we are not sure what the consequences will be,” he told Sky News.

The authors believe that many more colonies failed to reproduce last year. After the scientists presented their work, they found nine more colonies elsewhere in Antarctica whose chicks probably all died, and even more colonies where only a few would have survived.

In total, they say 19 of Antarctica’s 62 colonies, or 30%, lost all or many chicks in the past year due to the disappearance of sea ice.

Dr. Fretwell told Sky News that 2021 was bad, 2022 was even worse and “looks like 2023 is going to be even worse.”

“We are waiting for the sun to rise in Antarctica in September and are watching with some trepidation to see what the implications of this year of sea ice will be,” the scientist said.

His comments came as sea ice around Antarctica was at an all-time low for the end of June, according to the Met Office.

The scientists said it is difficult to link specific extreme seasons to climate change, but they expect longer-term reductions in sea ice cover as the climate warms.

Their study adds to a growing body of work that suggests that about 90% of emperor penguin colonies will be virtually extinct by the end of the century.

Although this species will still exist, their numbers will fall below the critical threshold required for survival, also because they need large numbers of people to huddle in search of warmth.

Rod Downey, chief polar adviser for a well-known wildlife charity, said: “The emperor penguins are heading towards extinction if we don’t act now.”

This year, Antarctica has lost “a shocking million square miles of sea ice” compared to the average, he said.

The expert added that in his 16 years of work in the region, he “had never witnessed anything like this before.” And now, he says, urgent action is vital to limit the rise in global average temperatures and protect Antarctic waters.