The heat wave in Siberia combined with an early melting of the ice in Greenland is reviving the concerns of the scientific community as summer approaches in the Arctic region.
The start of the ice-melting season in Greenland (defined as when it spans at least 5% of the ice cap) was recorded on May 13, according to the’Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI). Either with “almost two weeks in advance“Compared to the median date after 40 years of data, DMI researcher Martin Stendel told AFP on Friday.
In 2019, the cast season started on April 30, but an early start like this year remains a concern, scientists said.
Greenland will enter the season known as “ablation“(when snowfall will no longer compensate for melting, resulting in a general shrinking of the ice cap) with an already low ice level due to the little snowfall during the winter.
DMI researchers also noted a record heat wave in western Siberia in May.
Using what is called reanalysis (a method that aims to obtain a comparable view of weather records while adjusting for the lack of availability and quality of observations spanning decades) Mr. Stendel explains that his team doesn’t hadn’t observed such a heat wave in sixty years for this time of year.
Over the past decade, several heat waves have been observed in parts of the Arctic and at different times of the year.
What’s going on today “is not unprecedented, but it’s quite unusual“says Stendel. He recalls the importance of keeping an eye on the region where”there are huge amounts of greenhouse gases trapped under the ice“of permafrost.
Average temperatures in the Arctic region have increased by two degrees since the mid-19th century, twice the global average.
The melting of glaciers in Greenland is not without consequences for the global level of the seas and oceans.
According to the DMI, the melting ice in this region of the world has contributed to the rise of a centimeter in sea level since 2002.
In a report published in April in The Cryosphere, researchers found that in 2019, melt in Greenland accounted for 40% of the increase in water levels.
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