Climate change is no longer a distant threat—it’s a powerful force that’s making itself felt more and more with each passing year. And it doesn’t just affect nature, the oceans, Peru’s coastline, glaciers, or vulnerable wildlife. It impacts every single living being and their environment across the planet.
Extreme heat waves, unexpected heavy rains, long-lasting droughts, and other erratic weather events are becoming more frequent. These climate disruptions are already triggering natural disasters around the world—and Peru, especially its rich and diverse ocean, is no exception.
What’s been observed?
It’s not just the air that’s heating up—land animals and marine life are feeling it too. Cities like Cusco, Piura, and even Lima (which locals now call “an oven”) are experiencing noticeable temperature spikes.
The snowy peaks of the Andes are shrinking year by year, and similar changes are happening underwater in the Peruvian sea—and in oceans worldwide.
Warmer waters are causing a sharp drop in phytoplankton, the microscopic organisms that form the base of the entire marine food chain. As temperatures rise, many marine species migrate elsewhere, which can have devastating consequences both beneath and above the surface.
Some environmental changes are part of Earth’s natural cycles—like past ice ages or warming periods caused by volcanoes or other natural events. But what we’re seeing now is happening at an alarmingly fast pace, with devastating consequences for life as we know it.
At this rate, it’s highly likely that many marine species will die off, as their ecosystems shift in ways they can’t adapt to. Without their usual food sources, entire species could disappear—causing a chain reaction throughout the food web.
One recent sign of this disruption was the arrival of penguins on the northern coast of Piura—disoriented and far from their normal habitat, driven by shifting temperatures and changes to the Humboldt Current.
So, what happened?
Fish are moving farther from the Peruvian coast in search of cooler waters. But for penguins and other predators that rely on these fish, this change is disorienting—they follow the food and get lost along the way.
The stability of the oceans depends on a system of deep and surface currents that move cold and warm water around the globe. But that system is now at risk, slowing down and breaking down due to rising temperatures and human-generated CO₂ emissions.
In fact, the reduced ability of oceans to absorb CO₂—combined with the increase in manmade carbon emissions—makes things worse. According to recent studies, six key marine regions are now especially vulnerable and need urgent protection: the Pacific coast of Peru, the Galápagos Islands, the coasts of Argentina and the Falklands, China, the Philippines, Australia, and the Central Pacific.
Saving marine life along Peru’s coast isn’t just about tourism or fishing—though both are essential to the country’s economy. It’s about something much bigger: protecting the planet from a collapse of species and ecosystems as we know them… including ourselves.
