60 Percent of Fish Species Won’t Survive Climate Change
Global warming means that oceans will be too hot for most fish species by the end of the century.
New research shows that more than half of the current fish species in the oceans will not survive the effects of global warming.
If the planet warms by 5 degrees Celsius (41°F), this would wipe out 60 percent of fish species.
This is far worse than originally feared, as previous studies suggested that global warming at 5 degrees Celsius would affect only 5 percent of fish species.
Even if the planet meets the Paris Agreement - which aims to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius (34°F) this century - it would still be too hot for 10 percent of fish species.
“We can say 1.5 degrees Celsius is not paradise, there will be changes. But we can limit those changes if we manage to stop climate change”, says Hans-Otto Pörtner, who was involved in the research, at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany.
The latest study looked at nearly 700 species of freshwater and marine fish, and is among the first to focus on the life phases of fish. In particular, researchers found that spawning adults and embryos had a much lower tolerance to heat than non-spawning adults.
The increased oxygen levels that many spawners rely on is threatened by climate change, as oxygen is less soluble in warmer waters.
Scientists also fear that global warming is happening too fast for evolutionary adaptation.
“It is worth making an effort to go for as little climate change as possible”, adds Pörtner.
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