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Southern Africa is home to most of the world’s black and white rhinos. Because of global warming, the weather in this area is changing quickly. People have worked hard to protect rhinos from being hunted, but until now, no one has really looked at how the changing weather might hurt these animals.

A research team from the University of Massachusetts Amherst has recently reported that the area will be affected by both higher temperatures and changing precipitation (降水) and the rhinos are more sensitive to rising temperatures, which will quickly increase above the animals’ acceptable maximum threshold.

Over the last 100 years, Africa’s average monthly temperatures have gone up by 0.5℃ to 2℃. Scientists think that in the next 100 years, it might get even warmer, up to 2 more degrees. This change in weather might also change how much rain we get. But here’s the thing：For animals like white and black rhinos, which people have been trying to protect for a long time, will the heat or the rain changes hurt them more? This is a big question because rhinos don’t have sweat to cool down. They stay cool by taking baths and staying in cool shady spots.

To understand how changing climate will affect rhino populations, lead author Hlelowenkhosi S. Mamba and his colleague, focused their efforts on five large national parks representing diverse landscapes in southern Africa that are home to most of the rhinos. They have found that temperature conditions in all study parks will become increasingly unsuitable for both species, but it is predicted that white rhinos will be affected earlier than black rhinos.

“This research highlights the importance of using climate predictions tor both park and rhino management,” says Randhir. “We propose that park managers now think about increasing water supplies, tree cover, watching for stress and planning to allow rhino migration as the world warms.”