WASHINGTON | Mountain birds on ‘escalator to extinction’ as planet warms

WASHINGTON— A meticulous re-creation of a 3-decade-old study of birds on a mountainside in Peru has given scientists a rare chance to prove how the changing climate is pushing species out of the places they are best adapted to.

Surveys of more than 400 species of birds in 1985 and then in 2017 have found that populations of almost all had declined, as many as eight had disappeared completely, and…

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WASHINGTON | Under the sea, marine heat waves can wreak havoc on wildlife

WASHINGTON  — Even the seas are seeing heat waves.

A new study finds the number of “marine heat waves” roughly doubled between 1982 and 2016. Scientists say such events will likely become more common and intense as the planet warms.

Prolonged periods of extreme heat in the oceans can damage kelp forests and coral reefs, and harm fish and other marine life.

The study published Wednesday in Nature relied on satellite data and other records of sea-surface temperatures including from ships and buoys.

Earlier this month, scientists recorded all-time high seawater temperatures off the San Diego coast since readings began in 1916.

While the event wasn’t part of the latest study, researchers say it was a marine heat wave.