A scientist breaks down in tears on Frozen Planet II as he explains how climate change is killing off Adelie penguins.
Visiting one of the biggest colonies in the Antarctic, Professor Bill Fraser, who has studied the species for 45 years, says where there used to be 20,000 birds, there are now just 400 breeding pairs.
And they are struggling because their habitat is becoming warmer and wetter.
He says: “Adelies are a creature of the high Antarctic. They evolved in a dry, cold polar system, they simply cannot tolerate being continuously wet.
“The chicks are soaking. The rain is penetrating their down, breaking down their ability to insulate themselves – that’s why they are shivering. They’re trying to maintain their body temperature and they can’t.”
Pointing out one mud-covered, sodden chick, he says its chances of survival are “zero”.
As two predator birds drag the chick away, it is too cold and tired to even react. Prof Fraser then visits an island which used to be filled with Adelie penguins and is now empty.
Weeping, he says: “There are no words to describe what I’m feeling.”
He warns that what has happened to these birds will happen to other creatures. He says: “Adelie penguins are, without doubt, indicator species.
“They are telling us that the globe is changing, getting warmer.”
Sir David Attenborough agrees. In the final episode of the BBC One series, airing on Sunday, he urges the COP26 summit to stick to the agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees if we are “to stand any chance of saving what remains of our frozen planet”.
The programme’s experts suggest that more sustainable lifestyles can be achieved by people considering their carbon footprint and consuming less, making fewer journeys, thinking about the food we eat and using different energy sources.
Governments need to be persuaded to embrace renewable power sources like solar and wind, which could provide all the power needed by humans.
“To do that you need to really transform society as a whole,” one expert says. “If enough of us are educated about the effects of carbon in the atmosphere, even the most poorly educated politician will respond to what their citizens want.”
In an emotional plea at the end of the episode, Sir David declares: “It’s within our power to do it. We can do it. We must do it. Then, there will be a future for the planet.”
