The majority of polar bears could disappear by the year 2100 if the world continues emitting greenhouse gases at the current rate, according to an alarming study released Monday.
The new study in Nature Climate Change projects that polar bear populations will suffer declines in reproduction by 2040 if emissions continue unabated. With some mitigation in greenhouse gas release, that date could be pushed back to 2080.
There are 19 subpopulations of polar bears, with fewer than 26,000 of the animals left. While they’re currently found in Canada, Greenland, the U.S., Russia, and Norway, the study’s authors say by 2100, they may only survive on Canada’s Queen Elizabeth Islands.
Polar bears rely on sea ice to hunt for their prey, including seals. When the bears can’t eat enough during the winter and their summer fasts stretch longer and longer, their reproductive rates suffer. In Canada, Hudson Bay’s polar bear population has dropped by about 30% since 1987.
“With something like polar bears, where you’re not going to get their habitat back, it’s not clear we’re going to try to hold on to these populations everywhere,” Andrew Derocher, a biology professor at the University of Alberta, told The Guardian.
Researchers used information about how long the bears can fast before reproduction and cubs’ survival is threatened and combined it with projections about future sea-ice disappearance to reach the predictions.
As polar bears struggle to find food in their current environments, we could see more instances of the animals scavenging for scraps in towns.
That includes areas around Hudson Bay, where the polar bear populations are likely to have reproductive troubles by 2040, according to the study. That’s a danger to both humans and bears.
Recently, we've entered an exciting collaboration with Maple Media, creating a bundle of 17 apps worth having on your phone. From relaxed fun to serious productivity boosts, these apps cover all your bases and provide a fun boost to your phone. Normally, the bundle is $9.99 per month (far lower than the cost of using the apps individually), but for your first 7 days you can get access to the bundle for free. View the full Digital Trends App Bundle for a complete list of the apps, or read on for a summarized take.
What's happened? This week, China's Quality Certification Center released information about a battery (EB-BS04898ABY) with a maximum capacity of 4,855mAh. That's the same capacity as was previously seen in the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, and fans have taken this certification to mean the Galaxy S26 Ultra will not see a capacity increase after all.
The Samsung Galaxy Ultra models have had the same battery capacity for the last five years.
What's happened? Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy Tab S10 Lite, a budget-friendly alternative to the Galaxy Tab S10. The device has been rumored for months, but this is the first time Samsung has officially acknowledged its existence.
The Galaxy Tab S10 Lite will have a 10.9-inch display and a peak brightness of 600 nits — a bit on the lower side, versus the iPad Pro's maximum brightness of 1,600 nits.