ipoh-horfun
Well-Known Member
WASHINGTON - Arctic sea ice has shrunk to its smallest surface area since record-keeping began.
United States scientists warn that this is taking the world into "uncharted territory" as climate change intensifies.
Satellite images show the ice cap has melted to 3.4 million sq km as of Sunday, the predicted lowest point for the year.
That is the smallest Arctic ice cover since record-keeping began in 1979, according to the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) on Wednesday.
"While we've long known that as the planet warms up, changes would be seen first and be most pronounced in the Arctic, few of us were prepared for how rapidly the changes would actually occur," said NSIDC director Mark Serreze.
This year's minimum follows a season already full of records for shrinking ice, with the lowest ever extents recorded on Aug 26 and again on Sept 4. And in the last two weeks, the ice cover melted by more than 518,000 sq km - a large margin for the end of the summer.
Climate models predict "ice free conditions" before 2050, said NSIDC scientist Julienne Stroeve, but the decline appears to be happening faster than predicted.
Despite year-to-year fluctuations from natural weather variations, the ice cap has shown a clear trend towards shrinking over the last 30 years, according to the NSIDC. "This year's minimum will be nearly 50 per cent lower than the 1979 to 2000 average," it said.
It added that the Arctic is shifting in composition, and whereas most of the ice previously stayed frozen through several summers, much of it now melts and refreezes each season.
It warned that increased heat and moisture from the melting Arctic ice cover could have global climate implications.
Environmental activist group Greenpeace lamented the announcement. "I hope that future generations will mark this day as a turning point, when a new spirit of global cooperation emerged to tackle the huge challenges we face," said its chief Kumi Naidoo.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
United States scientists warn that this is taking the world into "uncharted territory" as climate change intensifies.
Satellite images show the ice cap has melted to 3.4 million sq km as of Sunday, the predicted lowest point for the year.
That is the smallest Arctic ice cover since record-keeping began in 1979, according to the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) on Wednesday.
"While we've long known that as the planet warms up, changes would be seen first and be most pronounced in the Arctic, few of us were prepared for how rapidly the changes would actually occur," said NSIDC director Mark Serreze.
This year's minimum follows a season already full of records for shrinking ice, with the lowest ever extents recorded on Aug 26 and again on Sept 4. And in the last two weeks, the ice cover melted by more than 518,000 sq km - a large margin for the end of the summer.
Climate models predict "ice free conditions" before 2050, said NSIDC scientist Julienne Stroeve, but the decline appears to be happening faster than predicted.
Despite year-to-year fluctuations from natural weather variations, the ice cap has shown a clear trend towards shrinking over the last 30 years, according to the NSIDC. "This year's minimum will be nearly 50 per cent lower than the 1979 to 2000 average," it said.
It added that the Arctic is shifting in composition, and whereas most of the ice previously stayed frozen through several summers, much of it now melts and refreezes each season.
It warned that increased heat and moisture from the melting Arctic ice cover could have global climate implications.
Environmental activist group Greenpeace lamented the announcement. "I hope that future generations will mark this day as a turning point, when a new spirit of global cooperation emerged to tackle the huge challenges we face," said its chief Kumi Naidoo.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
