Headline

Koalas Now Endangered, Threatened By Climate Change

 Australia

A young koala looks through eucalyptus leaves in a zoo in Duisburg, Germany, Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. Koalas have been declared officially endangered in eastern Australia as they fall prey to disease, lost habitat and other threats. (Credit: AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

Australia's iconic koalas are now endangered in two states and the Australian Capital Territory due to a combination of factors linked to climate change, the Australian government announced Friday. Koala populations fell by nearly a third in just the three years from 2018 to 2021. Thousands of koalas were killed by the 2019-2020 bushfires, while drought and extreme heat have also contributed to population decline. Climate change, mainly caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, is making both droughts and heatwaves more frequent; it also doubled the likelihood of extreme heat and increased the risk of the severe fire weather that supercharged the bushfires by at least 30%. Chlamydia and deforestation are also contributing threats to Koala populations.

(AP, Gizmodo, The Guardian, NPR, Axios, New York Times $, Salon, People; Climate Signals background: Extreme heat and heatwaves, Wildfires, Drought)