Heatwaves are directly killing large numbers of animals, causing sudden die-offs and long-term population declines. Examples include howler monkeys falling dead from trees in Mexico after temperatures exceeded 43C, flying foxes collapsing in Australia, barnacles baking in Canadian tide pools, and male beetles becoming effectively sterile from high temperatures. Rescuers have administered ice and intravenous fluids to surviving animals, while local counts report dozens to hundreds of deaths. Shifts in climate are increasing the frequency of very hot days rather than only raising average temperatures, producing acute, lethal stress events that can push species toward extinction.
The residents of Tecolutilla, Mexico, knew the heatwave was bad when they heard the thuds. One by one, the town's howler monkeys, overcome with dehydration and exhaustion, were falling from the trees like apples, their limp bodies smacking the ground as temperatures sizzled past 43C (110F) in spring last year. Those that survived were given ice and intravenous drips by rescuers. At least 83 of the primates were found dead in the state of Tabasco, though local veterinarians estimated hundreds throughout the region probably perished.
Episodes such as this are unfolding across the world as the climate crisis delivers harsher and more frequent heatwaves. Flying foxes have tumbled from trees in Australia; billions of barnacles have baked in tide pools in Canada; male beetles have been virtually sterilised by soaring temperatures. Beyond these local die-offs, ecologists are only just beginning to grasp the full threat that extreme heat poses to the world's wildlife populations, and how quickly it can drive species towards extinction.
Maximilian Kotz, a climate scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, says: As human emissions shift the temperature distribution upwards, this manifests as a strong increase in the number of very hot days not just an increase in average temperatures. While the steady drumbeat of climbing average temperatures has long been expected to push species out of their preferred habitats and make food scarce, these episodes of blistering heat constitute a unique threat to wildlife, scientists say.
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