The melting of ice in a specific region of Antarctica has had devastating consequences for emperor penguin chicks.
Last year, due to the loss of ice in the Bellingshausen Sea area, no emperor penguin chicks are believed to have survived in four colonies.
This loss of ice disrupts the penguins’ natural breeding cycle, as they rely on the ice to hatch eggs and raise their chicks.
Researchers fear that this could lead to the extinction of the emperor penguin, as climate change and warming oceans are likely to make such losses more frequent in the future.
The population of emperor penguins, the largest penguin species, has declined significantly, with experts warning that they could become almost extinct by the end of the century.