Warming threatening penguins in Antarctica

Global warming may be having an impact on the populations of two penguin species in Antarctica, a Chinese scientist on the southernmost continent said.

Dai Yufei, an associate researcher at the Polar Research Institute of China who is working at China's Changcheng Station, or Great Wall Station in Antarctica, told People's Daily recently that the population of Adelie penguins on nearby Ardley Island has been declining, while the number of gentoo penguins is increasing.

Ardley Island is internationally recognized as part of the Antarctic Specially Protected Area near King George Island, where the scientific research stations of multiple countries are located. Dai said that over the past couple of weeks — summer in Antarctica — they only observed some 200 Adelie penguin nests there, whereas gentoo penguins had about 8,000. In the past, there were many more Adelie penguins, he added.