Currently, frog populations around the world are declining. Due to the nature of their life cycles and physiology, frogs are very sensitive to environmental changes. Frogs are born in the water as tadpoles and move onto land for their adult lives. This makes them vulnerable to changes in both aquatic and terrestrial habitat availability. In areas that are becoming more prone to drought, their aquatic habitats are drying out.

Frogs are also thermoconformers. This means that they are highly sensitive to changes in global average temperature. Warming temperatures are forcing many species to migrate northward or to higher elevations where the temperature is cooler, restricting the range in which they can survive.

The biggest threat climate change poses to frogs is indirectly linked to climate. When you were young, you may have been told to dress appropriately for the weather so as to not catch a cold. Very warm or very cold conditions can compromise your immune system, making you prone to infection. In the same way, frogs become more susceptible to infection when they are exposed to changing temperatures. Chytridiomycosis, a highly contagious and often lethal disease caused by chytrid fungus, is becoming widespread and threatening frog species around the world.

Efforts are being made to breed sensitive frog species in captivity, but it is difficult to ensure that captured frogs are infection-free. Despite efforts to save them, many local frog populations have been extirpated and some entire species have become extinct due to environmental changes.