Record low sea-ice: 100% loss of Emperor Penguin chicks

Following record low sea-ice, a 100 percent loss of Emperor Penguin chicks was recorded across colonies in the Bellingshausen Sea region of Antarctica.

The rapidly melting sea ice in the Antarctic is becoming catastrophic for the Emperor Penguins.

During the spring of 2022 in the southern hemisphere (mid-September to mid-December), there was a notable decrease in sea ice levels in the Southern Ocean. This decline was particularly prominent along the western coastline of the Antarctic Peninsula, which serves as a crucial location for the breeding of the penguin species.

The reduction of ice and increase in open water proved fatal for the young chicks and hatchlings who were not yet able to handle the bitterly cold waters.

Chicks usually don't develop their waterproof feathers until mid-December, however last year, the ice began to give way as early as November, so many chicks ended up drowning or freezing to death.

Of five sites monitored in the Bellingshausen Sea region in 2022, all but one experienced a 100 percent loss of chicks. By mid-February, the sea ice extent shrank 30 percent below the 1981-2010 average.