November 12 2004

Warmer Arctic a dire threat to planet

Scientists at the World Wildlife Fund said that, if that continues, many of the polar bears in the Hudson Bay area will be so thin within the next 10 years that they could become infertile. Lara Hansen, chief scientist at the WWF, said: “If the population stops reproducing, that’s the end of it.”

Separate studies have already shown that toxic pollutants are building up in the fat of polar bears in a way that could affect their ability to reproduce.

The ACIA is the product of four years’ work by more than 250 scientists from Britain, the US and other industrialised countries. Its report, presented to a conference this week in Reykjavik, found climate change is affecting the Arctic more than many other regions.

For instance, scientists estimate that the polar region is warming at up to 10 times the rate of the world as a whole.

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