Global Warming Gone Too Far
The British newspaper, The Independent, has written an article on the increasing losses of ice experienced in the Arctic.
A record loss of sea ice in the Arctic this summer has convinced scientists that the northern hemisphere may have crossed a critical threshold beyond which the climate may never recover. Scientists fear that the Arctic has now entered an irreversible phase of warming which will accelerate the loss of the polar sea ice that has helped to keep the climate stable for thousands of years.
The real problem is that as more ice melts, more and more ocean is exposed that can soak up the sun’s heat and further expand the melting cycle. It is believed that the arctic ice has decreased up to 18.2 percent from previous years’ levels.
Every year the ice melts during the summer months and then recovers during winter, when the seas around the Arctic freeze again. But last year, during winter, the ice failed to recover significantly. The ice which on average covers some 2.4 million square miles only reached 2 million square miles in September 2002, 16 percent below the average. Ice data closely follows August’s levels, and given that it is currently 18.2 percent below average it looks like the levels for this September will be the lowest ever monitored.
Computer models suggest that the Arctic will be ice-free by 2070, but some people believe that this is being over-optimistic. Regardless of this, the last four years have shown that the sea ice is shrinking and if the levels for September follow predictions it appears that the Arctic ice packs are receding quicker and quicker, which could have catastrophic results for the ecology of the Arctic, and for the planet in general.
Read more at The Independent.
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