https://e360.yale.edu/digest/red-list-2023 Close / - - Search [ ]Search Yale Environment 360 Published at the Yale School of the Environment * Explore * Search * About E360 E360 Digest December 12, 2023 More Than 44,000 Species Now Threatened With Extinction Atlantic salmon are increasingly imperiled by climate change. Atlantic salmon are increasingly imperiled by climate change. Matt Hintsa via Flickr In its latest accounting, the International Union for Conservation of Nature finds that more than 44,000 species worldwide are threatened with extinction. Of these, nearly 7,000 face an immediate threat from climate change. "Species around the world are under huge pressure," Craig Hilton-Taylor, of IUCN, said in a statement. "So no matter where you look, the numbers of threatened species are rising." This year, the organization tracked 157,000 species for its Red list, finding that climate change poses a growing threat to wildlife. At particular risk are freshwater fish, such as Atlantic salmon, which are now classified as "Near Threatened." Among all freshwater fish, some 25 percent are threatened with extinction, a trend driven in part by rising sea levels, which are pushing saltwater up rivers. Among amphibians, 41 percent are threatened with extinction, owing partly to more intense heat and drought, experts say. "It is shocking that one quarter of all freshwater fish are now threatened with extinction," said Barney Long, of the conservation group Re:wild. "It is critical that we better safeguard our freshwater systems, as they are not only home to precious and irreplaceable wildlife, but also provide humans with so many services that only the natural world can." ALSO ON YALE E360 Warming Waters Challenge Atlantic Salmon, Both Wild and Farmed * Facebook * Twitter * Email Related Articles * Dengue patients at a hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh, September 9, 2023. As Temperatures Rise, Dengue Fever Spreads and Cases Rise By Vaishnavi Chandrashekhar * [Speth-Syst] OPINION Clearing Skies: Opening a New Path on Climate and the Future By James Gustave Speth * Ellen Sinoya stands on the remains of her home, eight months after it was destroyed by Cyclone Freddy. After the Storm, Malawi's Farmers Face a Precarious Future By Jenipher Changwanda and Freddie Clayton More From E360 * WILDLIFE Deep in the Wilderness, the World's Largest Beaver Dam Endures * INTERVIEW To Fight Plastic Waste, an Indonesian Campaign Aims High * Biodiversity How Mounting Demand for Rubber Is Driving Tropical Forest Loss * Climate As Temperatures Rise, Dengue Fever Spreads and Cases Rise * OPINION Clearing Skies: Opening a New Path on Climate and the Future * Food & Agriculture After the Storm, Malawi's Farmers Face a Precarious Future * Policy Shifting Political Winds Threaten Progress on Europe's Green Goals * OPINION Uncounted Emissions: The Hidden Cost of Fossil Fuel Exports * Biodiversity Can 'Immortal' Sequoias Survive the Ravages of Climate Change? * INTERVIEW Ecosystems as Infrastructure: A New Way of Looking at Climate Resilience * ANALYSIS As Climate Talks Near, Calls Mount for a 'Phaseout' of Fossil Fuels * OPINION Without Warning: A Lack of Weather Stations Is Costing African Lives E360 * About E360 * Reprints * Contact * Support E360 * Privacy Policy * Submission Guidelines * Newsletter Published at the Yale School of the Environment