Are species at risk from climate change?
Species are at risk from climate change. Scientists estimate that, as a result of human activities, the current rate of extinction is up to 1,000 times greater than in the past. Climate change is already contributing to this increased rate of loss of biodiversity, and is expected to further augment it in the future. Climate change impacts biodiversity in many different ways. For example, increased temperatures can decrease the amount of habitat available to species, interfere with temperature-sensitive reproduction and migration events, and increase disease (e.g., by expanding the ranges of disease vector species such as mosquitoes).
