Hottest year in recorded history compounds global biodiversity risks
As climate change accelerates, effectively monitoring and managing the growing impacts on biodiversity is an urgent priority. Here, we identify the exposure of species to unprecedented heat to evaluate the potential impact of 2024-the hottest year on record-across >33,000 vertebrate species worldwide. One in six (5,368) species were exposed to unprecedented temperatures across >25% of their range-68% more species than in 2023. Most (81%) species exposed in 2023 were also exposed in 2024, potentially compounding risks. For the first time, widespread species were exposed to extreme temperatures across >10% of their ranges. We propose using these exposure estimates to inform monitoring and mitigation efforts to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Authors
- Cory Merow (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0561-053X)
- Mark C. Urban (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3962-4091)
- Alex L. Pigot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6490-6261)
- Andreas L. S. Meyer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8870-5192)
- Brian Maitner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2118-9880)
- Josep M. Serra‐Diaz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1988-1154)
Institutions
- University of Connecticut (US)
- University of South Florida (US)
- Institut Botànic de Barcelona (ES)
- South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (ZA)
- Climate Centre (NL)
- FuelCell Energy (United States) (US)
- Risk Engineering (Bulgaria) (BG)
- University College London (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2025-08-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2504945122
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.84
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
- Nuclear Safety and Security Commission
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación