The ecosystems most immediately threatened by climate change are in the mountains, coral reefs, and the Arctic. Excess heat is causing environmental changes in those locations that exceed the ability of animals to adapt.[8] Species are escaping heat by migrating towards the poles and to higher ground when they can.[9] Sea level rise threatens coastal wetlands with flooding. Decreases in soil moisture in certain locations can cause desertification and damage ecosystems like the Amazon Rainforest.[10]: 9 At 2 °C (3.6 °F) of warming, around 10% of species on land would become critically endangered.[11]: 259
^Lindsey, Rebecca; Dahlman, Luann (28 June 2022). "Climate Change: Global Temperature". climate.gov. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 17 September 2022.
^ abIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), ed. (2022), "Summary for Policymakers", The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate: Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 3–36, doi:10.1017/9781009157964.001, ISBN978-1-009-15796-4, retrieved 24 April 2023
^EPA (19 January 2017). "Climate Impacts on Ecosystems". Archived from the original on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2019. Mountain and arctic ecosystems and species are particularly sensitive to climate change... As ocean temperatures warm and the acidity of the ocean increases, bleaching and coral die-offs are likely to become more frequent.
^Cite error: The named reference Pecl-2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).