Melting sea ice and overfishing have triggered a dangerously rapid decline in penguin populations on the Antarctic peninsula – a direct result of global warming, warns a new report from the WWF. Temperatures on the frozen continent are rising five times faster than the global average due to the unprecedented rate of climate change, pushing four species – including the emperor – perilously close to extinction. Emperors nest on the sea ice and can be found at Snowhill Island just around the tip of the peninsula as well as on the Ross Sea side of Antarctica. Icebreakers are needed for the voyages to these inhospitable areas (see our Emperor Penguin Safari, Epic Antarctica and Great Explorers Voyages).
Warmer temperatures are forcing penguins to raise their young on increasingly thinner and more precarious ice floes, while stronger winds mean many eggs and chicks are being blown away from their parents before they are able to survive on their own. The gentoo, chinstrap and Adélie (found along the Antarctic Peninsula) – along with the emperor, the largest penguin species in the world – are now struggling to survive as melting sea ice destroys nesting sites and reduces vital food sources, such as krill.“As the ice melts, these icons of the Antarctic will have to face an extremely tough battle to survive”, said Emily Lewis-Brown, of the WWF. “One of the coldest environments in the world is actually seeing some of the fastest rates of global warming, and unless action is taken to reduce global CO2 emissions, the future of many Antarctic species looks bleak.”
The report, entitled Antarctic Penguins and Climate Change, warns sea ice in the West Antarctic peninsula has receded by 40% during the past 26 years, causing certain colonies to dramatically decline. The emperor, the largest and arguably the most majestic penguin in the world, has seen some of its colonies halved in size during the past 50 years.The number of chinstraps has decreased by between 30 and 66% in some colonies: less food is making it increasingly difficult for the young to survive. Gentoos are now listed as nearly endangered on the IUCN Red List. Warming is fastest on the north western coast of the Antarctic, where populations of adélie penguins have dropped by as much as 65% over the past 25 years. UN Climate Change Conference delegates in Bali PLEASE sit up and take note. 
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