Climate change poised to devastate penguins: WWF

0 Comments | AFP, October, 2008

BARCELONA (AFP) — Half to three-quarters of major Antarctic penguin colonies could be damaged or wiped out if global temperatures are allowed to climb by more than two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), according to a report released Wednesday.

A two degree hike would threaten 50 percent of breeding grounds of emperor penguins, and 75 percent of Adelie penguin colonies, said the study, released by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) at the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona.

The United Nation's panel of climate change scientists has warned that earth's average temperature could increase more than two degrees Celsius by century's end even if major efforts are made curb greenhouse gases, and twice as fast under "business-as-usual" scenarios.

A reduction...