Arctic sea ice melting faster than forecast, say researchers

Published August 19, 2020
THIS 2019 file photo shows sled dogs wading through water on sea ice during an expedition in North Western Greenland. — AFP
THIS 2019 file photo shows sled dogs wading through water on sea ice during an expedition in North Western Greenland. — AFP

COPENHAGEN: The Arctic sea ice is melting faster than climate models had predicted, researchers at the University of Copenhagen warned on Tuesday.

Until now, climate models have predicted a slow and steady increase of Arctic temperatures, but a new study shows the warming is occurring at a more rapid pace.

“We have been clearly underestimating the rate of temperature increases in the atmosphere nearest to the sea level, which has ultimately caused sea ice to disappear faster than we had anticipated,” said Jens Hesselbjerg Christensen, a University of Copenhagen professor and one of the researchers involved in the study, in a statement.

Their findings, published in the journal Nature at the end of July, showed the unusually high temperatures currently being seen in the Arctic Ocean have only been observed during the previous ice age.

Ice core analyses have revealed that temperatures over the Greenland ice sheet increased several times during that time, between 10 to 12 degrees, over a period of 40 to 100 years.

“Changes are occurring so rapidly during the summer months that sea ice is likely to disappear faster than most climate models have ever predicted,” Hesselbjerg Christensen said.

In June 2019, a photograph of the early ice melt in northwestern Greenland made headlines around the world.

It showed sled dogs struggling through five or six centimetres of meltwater pooling on top of the ice. With a snowless mountain in the background, the dogs appear to be walking on water.

A recent study from Britain’s University of Lincoln concluded that Greenland’s ice melt alone is expected to contribute 10-12 centimetres to the world’s rising sea levels by 2100.

Another group of researchers recently concluded that the melting of Greenland’s ice cap has gone so far that it is now irreversible, with snowfall no longer able to compensate for the loss of ice even if global warming were to end today.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2020

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.