New Report Says Global Warming Puts Animals In Danger

A government report says global warming could lead to many animals and birds becoming extinct.

Animals and birds are good at adapting to gradual changes in their habitat, but in some cases the change is happening too fast for them to cope with.

Melting ice, bigger deserts and warmer seas mean that some creatures are finding that their usual homes are no longer comfortable places to live.

Photo: Polar bear © Heather Crawford

As Arctic sea ice melts, polar bears and seals are finding that their habitats are disappearing.

When ice at the North and South poles melts, it means that the sea level rises gradually all over the Earth.

Photo: Baby seal © Kevin Miller

For sea turtles, this means that some of their precious beach nesting sites will disappear. Scientists think that nearly a third of beaches used by turtles in the Caribbean could be lost during this century.

Photo: Sea turtle © Chris LaCroix

The report says that global warming has already changed the migration routes of some birds and other animals.

A migration route is the path taken by birds and animals who travel to a warmer place in the winter and a cooler place in the summer.

Photo: Migrating birds © Simon Cataudo

If the sea gets warmer by just a little bit, it can make a big difference. It can cause a drop in the numbers of the tiny plankton which many fish rely on for food. And if there's nothing to eat, fish have to either starve or move to where there IS food.

That can mean that the animals and birds who normally feed on fish find that there aren't as many fish to eat - and they start to go hungry too.

You may remember Show Me's news story about how the gas from cow and sheep farts (methane) could be a major cause of global warming. Methane is one of a group of gases called 'greenhouse gases'. These gases collect in the sky and trap warm air around our planet.

Problems begin when the layer of greenhouse gases gets too thick and traps too much heat. This is called 'global warming'.

To find out more about global warming check out this factsheet from Defra.

Online and on a closely-related subject, you can play with the Science Museum's Energy Ninjas, helping them on a global warming mission.

The ninjas are fighting to keep levels of carbon dioxide, another greenhouse gas, as low as possible.

© Science Museum.

The British Trust for Ornithology carried out the research for the report on behalf of Defra, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The report's findings are depressing news. Do think you there's anything we can do fix some of the problems already caused by global warming? What could be done to stop it getting worse in the future?

We'd like to know what you think about the situation, so do Get In Touch. We'll keep you posted on any further developments.