Emperor penguins in Antarctica have been reclassified from 'near threatened' to 'endangered' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), according to reports published on April 9, 2026. The IUCN, a global network of scientists, governments, and civil society organizations, cited climate change in Antarctica as the primary threat to the species' survival. The organization points to an existential threat to emperor penguins as sea ice melts due to human impact on the climate.
Emperor penguins depend on sea ice for living, hunting, and breeding, and as large ice sheets disappear, the number of individuals has decreased significantly. The population is expected to halve by 2080 if no action is taken to address climate change impacts on their Antarctic habitat.