As climate change causes temperatures to rise around the world, AP Science Reporter Seth Borenstein reported on ABC News that a new study is showing different ocean hot spots are being affected by this change as well. These hotspots can be found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. When looking at over 2,000 species of sea life, scientists are finding that the population of these creatures are dropping due to rising temperatures and extensive fishing. The population of penguins in particular show this change most dramatically. The population of Galapagos and South African penguins has dropped severely; warm waters from El Nino being a big contributing factor. According to Borenstein, the population of these penguins have dropped “over 90 percent in 20 years.”

Urban Heat Island Effect
Climate change has been an issue that has been intensely debated and criticized for the past few decades. New York City, a massively man-made city is currently trying its best to combat climate change by implementing new codes, laws and practices for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly
4 Responses
Thank you for the article. These things are highly overlooked by most people. The 90 percent drop in their population was extreme news to me however. With all the increase in temperatures happening,many species,, especially those that have evolved to live in the polar regions are extremely susceptible to major population drops and the only way to prevent is to combat the source while we still can.
thanks for your comment and glad you have learned new information about the effects of rising temperatures as a result of climate change
With this rate of decline in population of penguins, our next generation will never know about this species except in books and internet. This is a horrible truth.
thanks, Syed. Yes, it’s one of the tough truths, but we must keep hope that the trend is slowed and these animals will not disappear.