Second Largest Breeding Ground for Emperor Penguins Barren Since 2016

For the past three years, virtually nothing has hatched at Antarctica's second biggest breeding grounds for emperor penguins and the start of this year is looking just as bleak, a new study found.

An emperor penguin

Photographer: Wolfgang Kaehler/Getty Images

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Washington (AP) -- For the past three years, virtually nothing has hatched at Antarctica's second biggest breeding grounds for emperor penguins and the start of this year is looking just as bleak, a new study found.

Usually 15,000 to 24,000 breeding pairs of emperor penguins flock yearly to a breeding site at Halley Bay , considered a safe place that should stay cold this century despite global warming. But almost none have been there since 2016, according to a study in Wednesday's Antarctic Science.