How is climate change causing species to migrate to new territories?

The answer

Climate change is driving species poleward at an average rate of 17 kilometers per decade on land and 72 kilometers per decade in oceans, according to a comprehensive meta-analysis published in Science. Marine species are moving fastest: Atlantic mackerel have shifted 1,600 kilometers northward since the 1990s, sparking international fishing disputes between the EU, Norway, and Iceland. In mountainous regions, species climb an average of 11 meters upslope per decade, but those already at summits face extinction with nowhere left to go. The 2024 UK State of Nature Report found 60% of British butterfly species have shifted their ranges northward. Tropical fish now regularly appear in Mediterranean waters, fundamentally altering local food webs.