Climate Change Impact: Global Warming's Effect On Animals 'Greatly Underestimated,' 700 Species Risk Extinction

The impact of climate change on mammals and birds has been "greatly underestimated," and international organizations aren’t keeping up with the pace of animals' vulnerability, according to scientists. An international team of researchers found that a significant portion of species that were threatened to begin with have been seriously impacted by climate change already.

The stud, published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change analyzed the impact of climate change on birds and mammals using 130 previous studies, making it the most comprehensive analysis of the current effects of climate change on animals.

The team found that almost 700 species already had negative responses to climate change. Of those species, only seven percent of mammals and four percent of birds were currently considered "threatened by climate change and severe weather" by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.

Scientists agree virtually unanimously that the earth has entered a phase known as the Anthropocene, where the dominant influence is human action. But the consequences of climate change are often seen as far off and indeterminate. The research proved that repercussions are already very much under way, said the researchers.

“Climate change is not a future threat anymore,” said James Watson, associate professor at University of Queensland’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and part of the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Watson noted that before this study, such impacts had been massively underreported.

“We need to greatly improve assessments of the impacts of climate change on all species right now,” he said. “We need to communicate the impacts of climate change to the wider public and we need to ensure key decision makers know significant change needs to happen now to stop species going extinct.”

Despite skepticism within President Donald Trump’s administration, the majority of Americans claim stronger environmental regulations should be put in place. Fifty-nine percent of people said stronger laws would be worth it, a Pew Research Center survey in January found.