Unchecked climate change could extinct species like snow leopard

A global team of scientists analysed almost 300 biodiversity hotspots -- places with exceptionally high numbers of animal and plant species -- on land and at sea.

New Delhi: Many animals and plants unique to the world’s most stunning natural places face extinction if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, according to a new scientific study published in the journal Biological Conservation. The species included India’s snow leopard, one of the most charismatic animals of the Himalayas. However, remaining within the climate goals of the Paris Agreement, which aims to keep global heating well below two degrees Celsius, ideally at 1.5 degrees, would save the majority of species.

A global team of scientists analysed almost 300 biodiversity hotspots — places with exceptionally high numbers of animal and plant species — on land and at sea. Many of these hotspots contain ‘endemic’ species, unique to one geographic location such as one island or one country. They found that if the planet heats by over three degrees, then a third of endemic species living on land, and about half of endemic species living in the sea, face extinction.

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On mountains, 84 per cent of endemic animals and plants face extinction at these temperatures, while on islands that number rises to 100 per cent. Overall, 92 per cent of land-based endemic species and 95 per cent of marine endemics face negative consequences, such as a reduction in numbers, at three degrees. Current policies put the world on track for around three degrees of heating.

Endemic species include some of the world’s most iconic animals and plants. Besides the snow leopard, endemic species threatened by climate change include lemurs, which are unique to Madagascar.