# Even Cacti Are Threatened by Heat and Drought From Global Warming

Source: [Inside Climate News](https://insideclimatenews.org/news/11112026/cactus-heat-drought-global-warming/) · 2026-11-11 · Earth & Climate
Page: https://themorning.science/story/even-cacti-are-threatened-by-heat-and-drought-from-global-warming-140b3985802d0d9f
Kind: research · Impact: medium

## In brief

- A study spanning the Americas finds that climate change forecasts underestimate threats to biodiversity by leaving out extreme weather events.
- Projections that include severe drought predict severe habitat loss for cacti, even though they are among the most drought-resistant plants.
- Inside Climate News reports that heat and drought linked to global warming could shrink the suitable habitat of many cacti species.

## Why it matters

Biodiversity forecasts that rely on long-term climate averages may understate risk to species, including very resilient ones, so conservation planning based on them may need to account for extreme droughts.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-11: Study on cacti and extreme drought published online in Nature

## Coverage

- [Even Cacti Are Threatened by Heat and Drought From Global Warming](https://insideclimatenews.org/news/11112026/cactus-heat-drought-global-warming/) — Inside Climate News, 2026-11-11
- [Even cacti are severely threatened in a warmer, drier world](https://phys.org/news/2026-11-cacti-severely-threatened-warmer-drier.html) — Biology News - Evolution, Cell theory, Gene theory, Microbiology, Biotechnology, 2026-11-11
- [Too dry for cacti: extreme droughts could push iconic species to extinction](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-03671-2) — nature.com, 2026-11-11
- [Cacti are severely threatened by drought in a warming world](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-03496-z) — nature.com, 2026-11-11

Tags: cacti, drought, climate change, biodiversity, extreme weather

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