90% of emperor penguin colonies doomed to extinction by century's end

An emperor penguin colony at Snow Hill Island in Antarctica. Between 2018 and 2022, 30% of the 62 known emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica were affected by partial or total sea ice loss
Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

More than 90% of emperor penguin colonies will be doomed to extinction by the end of the century if current global warming trends continue, a new study suggests.

Published in the Communications Earth & Environment journal, scientists conclude that due to sea ice loss last year, it is highly probable that no chicks had survived from four of the five known emperor penguin colonies in the central and eastern Bellingshausen Sea in Antarctica.