Greenland holds the world’s second-largest ice sheet which makes it the topic of great significance since the melting of these ice sheets could have an adverse effect on sea level. As an effect of global warming five European countries broke their national temperature records in the last week by two degrees.
This phenomenon has now settled in Greenland which could lead to melting of ice sheets, more than 12 billion tons of water from the ice sheets has found its way to the ocean on a single day. This is garnering attention because if these ice sheets melt completely it could increase sea level by 23 feet.
According to climate scientist Xavier Fettweis, the melting of these ice sheets has reached a record mark in Greenland history since 1950. In 2012, the melting of ice was its highest elevation and prior to that, it has happened in the 1880s. This has happened twice in the last 10 years, after not happening in 100 years make it a heated topic. If this ratio continues it would take only a few hundred years to melt off the ice completely.
Recent studies had proved that the ice had been melting six times faster than it was in the 1980s. And, NASA warns that unless global emissions are controlled in the next thousand years there wouldn’t be any ice left on this planet. While rising sea levels are one effect of Greenland’s ice sheet melting, the circulation of air mass is another problem.
Masses of freshwater being poured into the sea remains on the surface because salt water is heavier. To worsen the situation, ice is getting darker and heavier due to dust and soot. “This melt event is a good alarm sign, that we urgently need to change the way of living,” said Fettweis. This is indeed one of the events that we should be careful about, experts keep reminding.
