The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced on Thursday that emperor penguins have now been listed as "endangered" due to a significant decline in their population. As per the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Antarctic fur seals are also "endangered" now.
The emperor penguin's population is projected to halve by the 2080s, with near-extinction possible by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. The satellite images indicated a loss of around 10% of the population between 2009 and 2018 alone, which is more than 20,000 adult penguins.
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Climate change is the primary driver, causing early sea-ice break-up and reduced breeding success. Emperor penguins rely on stable sea ice for breeding, feeding and moulting. Climate change is causing sea ice to melt at an alarming rate, reducing its habitat.
Decreased sea ice also affects krill populations, a crucial food source for emperor penguins. Increased frequency of extreme weather events, such as glacial calving and sea ice loss, further threatens their survival.
"These important findings should spur us into action across all sectors and levels of society to decisively address climate change," Dr Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Director General. "The declines of the emperor penguin and Antarctic fur seal on the IUCN Red List are a wake-up call on the realities of climate change."
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The listing highlights the urgent need for climate action to protect emperor penguins and other vulnerable species.
"Penguins are already among the most threatened birds on Earth. The emperor penguin's move to Endangered is a stark warning: climate change is accelerating the extinction crisis before our eyes. Governments must act now to urgently decarbonise our economies," said Martin Harper, who is the CEO of BirdLife International.
On the other hand, the Antarctic fur seal has moved from the "least concern" category to "endangered" after its population decreased by more than 50 per cent from an estimated 2,187,000 mature seals in 1999 to 944,000 in 2025.
Their population is also declining because of climate change, which pushes krill to greater ocean depths in search of colder water.
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