Antarctic sea ice hits record low as scientists warn of irreversible damage from climate change
SINGAPORE, Aug 8 (Reuters) – The sea ice in the Antarctic region has reached a record low this year due to rising global temperatures, according to a new study. Scientists warn that there is no quick fix to reverse the damage caused by climate change.
Last year, the continent’s minimum summer ice cover dropped below 2 million square kilometers (772,000 square miles) for the first time since satellite monitoring began in 1978. However, this year, it fell even further to a new low in February, as stated in the study published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Science.
Caroline Holmes, a polar climate scientist at the British Antarctic Survey and co-author of the study, said, “It’s going to take decades if not centuries for these things to recover. There’s no quick fix to replacing this ice.” She added that the impact of climate change on Antarctica is uncertain and recovery would take a long time.
Tim Naish, the director of the Antarctic Research Centre at New Zealand’s Victoria University of Wellington, who was not part of the study, revealed that this year’s sea ice minimum is 20% lower than the average over the last 40 years. This loss of sea ice is nearly 10 times the area of New Zealand.
Naish also warned that the world is approaching tipping points, beyond which irreversible changes will occur with severe consequences for future generations.
The study highlighted that global warming caused by burning fossil fuels has made Antarctica more susceptible to extreme events, and the impact is expected to worsen. Climate change is predicted to lead to increased heatwaves, ice shelf collapses, and decline in sea ice.
Martin Siegert, a glaciologist at the University of Exeter and co-author of the study, explained that extreme events are likely to intensify as global temperatures rise. He referred to last year’s “atmospheric river” that brought subtropical heat into the continent, causing temperatures up to 38.5 Celsius (69.3 Fahrenheit) above normal. He described the temperature increase as “absolutely astonishing” and expressed concerns about the increase in intensity and frequency of extreme events.
Antarctica, known for its fragility, is being tested by these extreme events, said Siegert. The study shows that it is crucial to address the intensifying impact of climate change and the cascading effects it has on other regions.
As the impacts of climate change on Antarctica and the surrounding ocean have been uncertain, scientists have struggled to measure the effects of global warming on the thickness of Antarctic ice. However, based on the rapid decline in sea ice and other phenomena, the study concludes that extreme events will only intensify.
The study emphasizes the urgent need for global action to combat climate change and protect fragile environments like Antarctica. The world must reduce greenhouse gas emissions and implement strategies to mitigate the irreversible damage caused by rising temperatures.
(Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Edmund Klamann)