Overview

• New research highlights the dire consequences of climate change on Africa's great apes, predicting more frequent extreme climate events like wildfires, heat waves, and flooding over the next 30 years.
• The study, published in PLOS Climate, examines the impact on 363 ape habitats across Africa, showing increased temperatures, altered rainfall patterns, and heightened exposure to extreme climate events.
• Great apes, including gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos, face 'generational trauma' due to the disruption of social networks and loss of knowledgeable individuals caused by climate events.
• Conservation efforts are deemed insufficient to protect ape populations from the effects of climate change, with a call for urgent adaptation and mitigation strategies.
• The research underscores the interconnectedness of climate change impacts on apes and human communities, emphasizing the need for holistic conservation approaches.