According to specialists, the high temperatures that are hitting the Arctic are causing a meltdown four times faster than that recorded in previous years. In Greenland, melting ice is visible in rivers of meltwater rushing into the ocean. Temperatures hover around 15.6 degrees Celsius, 10 degrees higher than normal for this time of year.
Data from the National Snow and Ice Center of the University of Colorado, United States, report that just the amount of ice melted in Greenland between July 15 and 17 (6 billion tons of water per day) could fill 7.2 million Olympic pools.
Northern melting last week is not normal, considering 30-40 year climate averages. Melting has been on the rise, and this event was a peak.
It definitely worries me. Yesterday we were able to wander around wearing t-shirts, that was not really expected.
– Ted Scambos, senior research scientist at the University of Colorado National Snow and Ice Data Center
Scientists say the melting rates in Greenland are “unprecedented” and the huge amounts of meltwater seeping to the surface are only making things worse by increasing rapid ice loss.
In 2020, Ohio State University researchers reported that melting in recent years exceeds anything Greenland has experienced in 12,000 years in terms of climate change. In addition, they warned that if the surface of Greenland were to melt completely, the sea level would rise by 7.5 meters globally, causing natural catastrophes and a visible change in the gravitational field over Greenland.
Environmental groups warn that the melting could wipe out multiple species of animals, triggering an irreversible change in the food chain and the behavior of the climate.