Second lowest result in the last 42 years – Ansa /Courier TV
Arctic summer sea ice is the second lowest on record. This was announced by US researchers from the National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado Boulder, offering further evidence of the impact of global warming. The ice melted in 2020 in the second smallest area since logging began 42 years ago. It melts in the summer and reforms in the winter, but precise satellite images acquired regularly since 1979 have documented how the cycle has shrunk significantly. The year’s low was reached on September 15, at 3.74 million square kilometers (1.44 million square miles). Unlike the melting of glaciers on land, the melting of sea ice does not directly contribute to sea level rise, as the ice is already on the water. Less ice means less reflected solar radiation, which is therefore absorbed by the oceans, heating them.
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