Climate Change Threatens Africa's Great Apes with Frequent Extreme Events
New research predicts increased exposure to wildfires, heat waves, and flooding over the next 30 years, underscoring the urgent need for conservation adaptation.
- New research highlights the dire consequences of climate change on Africa's great apes, predicting more frequent extreme climate events like wildfires, heat waves, and flooding over the next 30 years.
- The study, published in PLOS Climate, examines the impact on 363 ape habitats across Africa, showing increased temperatures, altered rainfall patterns, and heightened exposure to extreme climate events.
- Great apes, including gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos, face 'generational trauma' due to the disruption of social networks and loss of knowledgeable individuals caused by climate events.
- Conservation efforts are deemed insufficient to protect ape populations from the effects of climate change, with a call for urgent adaptation and mitigation strategies.
- The research underscores the interconnectedness of climate change impacts on apes and human communities, emphasizing the need for holistic conservation approaches.
CBC 
Salon 