Climate crisis in Antarctica, sea-ice reaches record low levels
US researchers have warned that Antarctic sea ice may have shrunk to a record low last week. According to satellite data, a lot of change has been seen here in the last 45 years.
Some scientists have warned that this startling decline is a sign that the climate crisis may be affecting this icy region more seriously. Global warming is the biggest reason for this. Experts have even warned that more than half of the world’s glaciers will disappear by the end of the century. This may also increase the sea level.
Sharp decline compared to last year
The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder reported that Antarctica’s sea ice had declined by 1.79 million square kilometers (691,000 million square miles) as of February 21. It has also crossed the mark of 136,000 square kilometers (52,500 sq mi) in the year 2022. NSIDC scientists said the initial figure could exceed even more as the weather could lead to further snow melt. Scientists will release new figures in early March.
Ice sheets melting due to warmer temperatures
The melting of sea ice due to warmer temperatures has transformed the frozen ice sheet of Antarctica into water. Melting of sea ice has no effect on the sea level because the ice is already in the sea, but with the increase in temperature, the huge ice chunks on main land of Antarctica are also melting rapidly, due to which the sea level will increase.
Ted Scambos, a senior research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), said Antarctica’s response to climate change has been different from the Arctic. He said that due to global warming, the ice around Antarctica is falling rapidly. The glacier has been melting rapidly since 2016. It has become a global concern.
