Record number of species on extinction 'danger list' due to climate change

11 December 2023 , 18:08

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There are less than 100 Amur leopards left (Image: Getty Images)

Climate change is putting a record number of species at risk of dying out, according to an expert assessment.

Some 44,016 of the 157,190 species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List are now under threat of extinction, which is up from 42,108 last year.

The update also includes the first global freshwater fish assessment and highlights the impact of illegal logging.

Of the assessed marine species, 3,086 out of 14,898 were at risk of vanishing, including Atlantic salmon.

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Previously common, the species is now near-threatened on the IUCN red list after its global population fell by 23%, having vanished from many rivers in the UK.

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IUCN director general Dr Grethel Aguilar said: “Climate change is menacing the diversity of life our planet harbours.”

The update was released at the Dubai COP28 conference.

Danger list

Java Rhino: about 75 left in the wild

Amur Leopard: around 100 left

Sunda Island Tiger: 600 left

Mountain Gorillas: 1,000 left

Tapanuli Orangutan: 800

Yangtze Finless Porpoise: 1,000

Black Rhinos: 5,630

African Forest Elephant: numbers not known

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Sumatran Orangutan: 14,000

Hawksbill Turtle: 20,000 - 23,000

Nada Farhoud