Nearly 8,000 species globally at threat of extinction before end of century: Study

New Delhi: Extreme heat and changes to land-use could put nearly 8,000 animal species around the world at a threat of extinction by the end of this century, according to a new study.

An international team, led by researchers at the UK's University of Oxford, looked at nearly 30,000 species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles.

"By the end of the century, up to 7,895 species are expected to face extreme heat events and/or unsuitable land use changes across their entire range, and thus potentially go globally extinct," the authors wrote in the study published in the journal Global Change Biology.

Suitable habitats for each species were taken from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) database, and maps of future habitat types for the species from the 'Land-Use Harmonisation 2' (LUH2), managed by the US' University of Maryland.

Lead researcher Reut Vardi, postdoctoral researcher, school of geography and the environment at the University of Oxford, said, "Our research highlights the importance of considering the potential effects of multiple threats together to get a better estimation of their potential impact. It further stresses the urgency of conservation and mitigation actions globally to prevent immense losses to biodiversity."

Under the most severe of the four scenarios modelled, species could be expected to face unsuitable conditions across 52 per cent of the range across which they are distributed -- under the best case scenario, 10 per cent of the species' range could be affected.

The combined effects of climate and land-use change are projected to be particularly acute in regions including the Sahel (for example, Sudan, Chad and Niger), the Middle East, and Brazil.

The findings are in line with those from previous studies that show the most extensive land-use changes under a future emissions scenario marked by high challenges in mitigating and adapting to climate change, the researchers said.

The study can help guide conservation policymaking and underlines how future environmental changes could dramatically reshape global biodiversity. It also highlights the importance of identifying and mitigating these interacting threats, the team said.