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Butterflies and meteorology clearly have, what can at best be described as a cosmic relationship. While the 'Butterfly Effect', a phenomenon in Chaos Theory is often used to explain the inherent complexity of weather systems, researchers at the city-based EMPRI (Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute) say that butterflies are the best bio-indicators of climate change. A baseline survey of butterflies in Bengaluru conducted over the past one year revealed that the number of butterfly species in the city had come down to 108, against 140 in 1990 and 153 in 1933. An autonomous body under the department of forest, ecology and environment, EMPRI has been conducting research on climate change. Researchers at the institute said that butterflies, with a lifespan ranging from 15 to 30 days, are acutely sensitive to changes in the environment.