News Climate

Climate change stifling lemmings

Warmer winter temperatures are altering the snowpack, squelching the rodents’ population booms

By Sid Perkins

- More than 2 years ago

Packs of Norway lemmings aren’t necessarily headed off a cliff, but climate change in a part of that country certainly seems to have stifled population spikes of the oft-prolific creature in recent decades.

LEMMING HARD TIMES The boom-and-bust population cycle of lemmings at one site in Norway has been interrupted by changes in the snowpack imposed by climate change, a new study suggests.