The local extinctions of lizards in Mexico, the threat of shrinking areas of polar climates, the decline of Aloe tree populations in the Namib desert, the increasing frequency of extreme warming and drying events in tropical areas. Climate change is more complex than what is often portrayed in maps of gradual warming or gradual increases or decreases in precipitation.
Biodiversity faces very different climatic challenges across regions and the impacts of the changing climate are still extremely difficult to predict.
A recent study tries to shed light on the implications of climate change for biodiversity while providing a detailed global overview of the threats and opportunities for species and ecosystems resulting from different measures of climate change. Researcher and co-author of the study, Raquel Garcia (CSIC National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid and Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate at University of Copenhagen) addresses these topics and explains what challenges biodiversity is expected to face.

The full interview by Laura Caciagli is available on Climate Science & Policy, the CMCC web magazine. Go to the full article