climate canary

an organism or species whose declining health or numbers signal a larger environmental catastrophe to come

climate canary

(Environmental Science) a human being or other living organism whose lack of health indicates environmental problems, reminiscent of the way in which live canaries were once used to detect the presence of poisonous gas in coal mines

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

References in periodicals archive

People whose health is affected by the environment they live in can be dubbed a climate canary, after the canaries which used to warn miners of poison gas.

OOH I SAY; Mind your language with new dictionary

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