Snow leopards could vanish from Nepal by 2050 under severe climate change, study warns

A recent study by Nepali and Australian researchers found that, under a severe climate change scenario, snow leopards “may entirely disappear” from Nepal within the next three decades.

“Our modelling shows an alarming scenario, and the impact from climate change is turning out to be worse than predicted,” said Dibesh Karmacharya, the executive director of the Center for Molecular Dynamics Nepal and lead researcher of the study.

Though typically found at elevations between 3,000 and 5,000 metres in elevation, one snow leopard was discovered at just 146 metres above sea level in eastern Nepal last January. Though some researchers now believe the animal may have simply “lost its way”, others initially attributed its presence far from its usual habitats to climate change.

Despite being an isolated incident, there are an increasing number of studies suggesting that rising temperatures are likely to affect the habitat of Nepal’s apex predators, including snow leopards, tigers and common leopards, ultimately affecting their distribution and population.

Snow leopards are among the most elusive species in the high mountains of Central and South Asia. Nepal is home to between 300 and 500 individuals, accounting for about 10 per cent of the global population.

With declining numbers, they are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.