Hello Conservers,
On our todays article we will be writing about the effects of climate change on wildlife and its conservation.
Climate change or global warming has been gaining a lot of attention in the past years. And this attention is because climate change is happening at an alarming rate. Studies show that the average temperature of the earth will increase by 0.15-0.3 degrees Celsius per ten years. The occurrence of heatwaves will be more and longer.
Due to the devastating effect of climate change, one may wonder if climate change would make the work of conserving wildlife harder than it already is. In this article, we will look at the effects of climate change on wildlife conservation.
First, What Is Climate Change?
Climate change is the increase in the average temperature of the earth. Scientists agreeclimate change, also known as global warming, is due to the use of fuel from fossils. The burning of these fossils gives off carbon (IV)oxide and other harmful gases to the atmosphere. These gases are found in the atmosphere where they trap and keep the heat on the earth.
Climate change has a debilitating effect of biosystems. They cause sea levels to rise, lead to droughts which are perfect conditions for wildfires and cause severe weather conditions.
The Effects of Climate Change on Wildlife Conservation
What are the effects of climate change on wildlife conservation? Does climate change make the work harder? Absolutely. Here are some of the ways climate change impacts wildlife conservation.
Drought, Temperature And Rainfall
We mentioned earlier that some of the effects of climate change are drought and heatwaves. Drought and heat waves are leading causes in the death of animals in the wild, especially the ones inhabiting the savannahs.
Irregular patterns of rainfall disrupt the life patterns of some species in the wild. The hippo and elephants are some of the species that find it difficult to cope with ever-changing weather. And it is no wonder that their numbers are in a massive decline.
Rainfall also affects the growth of plants that serve as food for herbivores, and when rain does not fall as often as it should, most of these herbivores will die of hunger.
Destruction of Habitat
Extreme conditions caused by climate change such as flooding, wildfires and cyclones are quite destructive forces. They clear out habitats and make them inhabitable. And the loss of habitat is one chief reason why most animals and plants have gone and are at the risk of going extinct.
Death of Species
In 2019, the largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon rainforest was plunged into severe wildfires. These fires lasted for a long time, destroying plants and animals—a huge loss for the planet earth.
Again, in Australia, the fires started in September 2019 and that killed almost 480 million animals as of January 2020. Most of the animals died from lung diseases because they inhaled PM2.5 emanating from the burning bush.
The effects of climate change on wildlife conservation is a huge and serious problem. So, while we are making sure species survive, we also have to ensure that some of the reasons why these species disappear in the first place are gotten rid of.
Join projectwlc today as we work on providing safe haven for all animals so the will not have to fall prey to different climate change that might lead to huge decline in their population thus facing extinction level.
visit our website https://www.projectwlc.com to be a part of this project.
Discuss with other conservers Worldwide by joining our telegram group https://www.t.me/Wlcproject