Sketching an ominous picture of the fallouts of climate change – a striking reality – Niyati Thakur points out that while ecological balance around human life and habitation remains threatened, habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, species extinction, species decline are distinct possibilities what with the impacts brought about by changing climate patterns.
Until a few years ago, climate change was a threat but not immediate, it was something that was looming in the future. However, the sharp increase in the number and intensity of extreme weather events and the huge economic losses incurred as a result of these anomalies has brought the attention back to climate change and made one thing clear – climate change is happening now and it is here to stay.
Apart from its direct impact on humans, climate change has an indirect impact as well – it disrupts the variables and processes that help in maintaining ecological balance around human life and habitation. Rising sea levels, extreme weather events and other manifestations of climate change are directly responsible for biodiversity loss.
Wildlife is highly vulnerable, and birds and animals are already facing the brunt of a climate crisis – habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, species extinction, species decline, etc. Changes in environmental factors such as temperature, rainfall intensity and pattern, etc., are affecting the habitat, population and migration pattern of many species of birds and animals.
Changing patterns
A study titled ‘Projected Shifts in Bird Distribution in India under Climate Change’ has analysed how biodiversity in India will be impacted by climate change. It is based on the study of 1,091 bird species that revealed that owing to climate change, by 2070, 66 – 73 per cent of these would move to higher elevations or northwards and 75 per cent of endemic bird species will have reduced climatically suitable areas.
The study conducted by four Indian researchers showed how climate change will affect distribution and range of birds and species richness under different scenarios generated for climate change.
The study revealed that climate change poses a serious threat to migratory birds whose range areas are likely to reduce in size. The range reduction of partially migratory and migratory species is higher as compared to sedentary species. The habitat of long-distance migratory birds is more vulnerable as their migration behaviours and processes are closely linked to climate.
The complex process of migration and how it happens has still not been understood fully. Migratory species use several environmental variables as compass to guide them during the migration process. These include length of the day, temperature change, food, precipitation, etc. With climate change, these factors change unusually and confuse the migratory species.
Scientists and researchers are observing drastic changes in the migratory patterns of butterflies, birds, fish and some species of mammals especially those in marine environments. With increasing temperatures, species are migrating sooner now as compared to few years ago.
Climate change is also altering the migratory routes taken by some species. So, now in the Arctic, due to increased snow melting, new routes have opened which are disturbing migration patterns of narwhals and other marine mammals.
Habitat loss
One of the most significant impacts of climate change is the loss of habitat for innumerable species of birds and animals. There are many factors causing this but mainly changing patterns of environmental variables such as temperature and precipitation are causing loss of habitat. The most common example is loss of habitat of the polar bears and walruses in the polar region because of global warming and melting ice caps.
Habitat loss sometimes leads to fragmentation of habitat and that affects survival of the species as well. Habitat fragmentation happens when a larger habitat area is divided into isolated fragments – this diminishes the availability of food, shelter even mates and makes the species highly vulnerable to smaller changes.
Changes in habitats can disrupt life for many species even endanger them. Climate change affects availability of food and shelter for many species and, in turn, their survival.
Today, around the world, habitats of millions of wildlife species are changing – they are shifting, shrinking even disappearing due to climate change. For example, droughts and heat waves are drying up water bodies leading to loss of aquatic habitats, intense storms are uprooting trees and standing crops destroying habitat for many birds and smaller animals.
In the Indian Eastern Himalayan region (IEH), in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, more than half of the world’s white winged wood duck live. The state bird of Assam was declared an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 1994. A study revealed that the 436.61 sq km of the highly potential habitat of this bird would be lost by 2070.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) special report on ‘The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate’ released in 2019 highlighted that in the last seven decades, several marine species have undergone shifts in geographical range and seasonal activities because of changes triggered by climate change. These changes include warming of the oceans, oxygen loss in the water, salinity intrusion, ocean acidification, sea level rise, etc.
Decline in population
Another significant impact of climate change on the world’s fauna is the decline of species populations. Many species of insects, birds, etc. are already extinct or facing extinction due to climate change. The species that are less likely to adapt to changing environmental variables face the threat of extinction.
Many vulnerable marine species such as fish, sea turtles are already experiencing population decline. Increase in water temperature and more acidic waters are affecting their growth and reproductive processes.
Climate change currently affects more than ten thousand species that are listed as Threatened – increasing the likelihood of their extinction.
The first mammal that was reported to have gone extinct because of the effects of climate change was Bramble Cay melomys – rising sea levels destroyed its habitat, the island of Bramble Cay.
Behavioural changes triggered by climate change is also threatening the existence of many species. Rising water temperatures, for example, have altered the migration of Chinook salmon to the Arctic rivers.
Safeguarding wildlife
The survival of millions of species coexisting on Earth can be ensured by promoting climate change adaptation and implementing strategies for nature conservation. Due to the sheer nature and scale of the problem, the solutions are not easy to find or implement.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme / Convention on Migratory Species (UNEP/CMS) recently organised a meeting to strengthen conservation efforts for migratory birds and their habitats in the Central Asian Flyway (CAF).
To tackle the effects of climate change, there’s a need for long-term programmes and effective strategies. Accurate monitoring and enumeration of vulnerable species is needed. Also, monitoring for diseases and deformities should be done for early detection and action.
Conserving natural habitats especially of endangered and threatened species is very important. A species is the most adaptable and resistant when it is in its native habitat. Eco-sensitive habitats such as wetlands, forests, etc. are at high risk of destruction due to climate change and must be protected at all costs.
Developing sustainable practices, minimising disruptive activities such as fishing in migratory season, educating children and youth, spreading awareness, etc. are some of the ways by which habitats of birds and animals can be protected.
Niyati Thakur is a researcher with DraftCraft International’s The Climate Change Project that documents and analyses climate crisis and action Across India and Beyond Borders.