How is global warming affecting plants and animals?

Across the globe, rising temperatures have already led to a shift in climate zones and, as a result, to some profound changes in the distribution ranges of plants and animals.¹ In Germany, too, we are already seeing the further spread of various plants. The monkey orchid, for example, originally from the Mediterranean region, is extending its reach northwards, and the holly, which has been native to western Germany for some time, is spreading to the north and to the east. The same thing is happening with disease-carrying insects² as well, such as the Asian tiger mosquito. Climate change is also altering the developmental phases of organisms and the relationships between them. Migratory birds are returning earlier, and researchers have documented an earlier spawning season for fish. Plants’ flowering times are shifting and no longer in sync with the life cycle of the insects that pollinate them.

Data from Germany’s National Meteorological Service reveals how the vegetation phases have changed and shifted as a whole. The phenological spring season now begins about two weeks earlier on average than it did a few decades ago. The phenological fall season begins earlier and lasts longer as a result. In contrast, the phenological winter season has grown shorter, decreasing from an average of 120 days per year to just 102 days.³

Climate change is also threatening biodiversity. The German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation commissioned a study to analyze a selection of 500 indigenous animal species, which revealed that climate change poses a high risk to 63 of them, hitting butterflies, mollusks (e.g., snails), and beetles the hardest.⁴