"Ice loss in the Antarctic Ocean may be killing the sea birds during their molting season."

"Each year for millennia, emperor penguins have molted on coastal sea ice that remained stable until late summer—a haven during a span of several weeks when it’s dangerous for the mostly aquatic birds to enter the ocean to feed because they are regrowing their waterproof feathers.

But as overall Antarctic sea ice extent dwindled to record lows in recent years, some of the frozen penguin platforms melted earlier than ever, forcing the weakened birds into smaller areas and possibly to a premature death in the icy ocean, according to British Antarctic Survey geographer Peter Fretwell, who helped pioneer counting emperor penguins from space.

“The sea ice wasn’t just breaking up into floes. In some years, it just disintegrated,” said Fretwell, author of a paper published Wednesday that matched the fate of the molting penguins against the ice records for seven years."

Bob Berwyn reports for Inside Climate News February 26, 2026. [2]