According to a study published in 2020 by Nature Climate Change, polar bears will be completely extinct by 2100 if the rate of climate change does not slow down. At present, there are about 22,000 to 31,000 polar bears in the Arctic wilderness: scattered along Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Russia, and Norway. 

 

Imagine a lonely polar bear, listlessly lying on thin ice without food. Melting glaciers, lack of food, and the slow extinction of the species–all exacerbated by global warming–have culminated in this final, lamentable scene. And yet the culprit behind all of this is us. 

 

Climate change is disrupting food availability in the Arctic, rapidly contributing to polar bears' decline. Currently, the Arctic is experiencing an unbelievable temperature rise 2.5 times faster than the global average, by the measure of numerical climate models. The accelerated melting of Arctic sea ice disrupts the polar bears' food availability. As Arctic sea ice melts, polar bears lose their ability to hunt seals, their main food source. Statistics prove that two-thirds of polar bear populations could decline by 2050 due to ongoing sea ice loss. As the ice retreats, it becomes more prone to break, making it hard for polar bears to move around and hunt. Normally, polar bears are adapted to use the ice as platforms to ambush seals as they surface for breathing holes. However, with thinner and more fragmented ice, polar bears’ hunting strategy becomes less and less successful, leading to increased food scarcity. This phenomenon forces the bears to swim longer distances to find suitable hunting areas, exhausting far more energy. This additional needed energy indirectly triggered polar bears’ weight loss, resulting in a relatively higher opportunity of death for them. Also, reduced food supplies make it much more difficult for polar bear cubs to survive. 

 

The impact of climate change extends beyond the low availability of food for polar bears, also affecting their natural habitat. Due to the increasing global temperature, the whole Arctic experienced rapid melting of sea ice. Polar bears depend on sea ice as their habitat throughout their entire life cycle. Polar bears do everything on sea ice: set - dunes, rear their cubs, rest, etc. Scientific research, satellite imagery, and observations on polar bear populations have consistently shown the alarming decline of suitable living areas due to climate change. The diminishing sea ice poses a continuous threat to the polar bears of losing their home. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the loss of sea ice habitat directly affects polar bear’s survival and reproductive success.  Therefore, their reproduction rates decrease as their natural habitat area diminishes, which ultimately increases their chances of becoming more endangered. 

 

Climate change, the shift of weather patterns and temperatures, is the reason for the polar bears’ tragedy. Although these changes can be natural, humans are undoubtedly exacerbating climate change’s effects.  Irresponsible transportation, widespread deforestation, and careless littering affect the globe on a large scale. According to The Wildlife Society, a study found that 25 percent of polar bears had plastic in their stomachs in 1996-2018. Stanford News reports that fin whales, another endangered species, ingest 3 to 10 million microplastic pieces daily. Infamous images of marine wildlife with plastic around their necks reveal the problem: plastic can cause lacerations, infections, disability, and suffocation. Microplastics cause inflammation and organ damage and affect reproduction and metabolism, and humans are responsible for this suffering. Natural gases such as methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide are released from our daily activities, exacerbating the effects of climate change. Evidence shown by the 2022 Union of Concerned Scientists, at least 97 percent of scientists agree that human activities primarily drive global warming. Because of global warming, nearly 270 billion tons of glaciers melt yearly. 

 

With this in mind, we can learn to be more responsible and thoughtful in the ways we live our lives. Our harmful habits directly contribute to the plight of the polar bears, and we have the power to save them. We must push for policy changes, reconsider our harmful habits, and advocate for polar bears’ lives. In 2100, let's keep at least 2 polar bears on Earth.