According to an new study the ice sheet has reached a point where, even if global warming were to stop immediately, melting would continue.
The large glaciers on the huge island between the Arctic Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean have retreated as much as three kilometers since 1985. Since 2000 there has been an acceleration in which the snowfall that creates new ice cannot keep up with the rate of melting.
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This now seems to have reached a kind of tipping point, is the firm and at the same time gloomy conclusion. Researchers rely on satellite data from the past 40 years.
As a biologist and geographer for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Polet regularly travels to Greenland. He calls the current melting rate of the ice sheet a ‘drama with worldwide consequences’, certainly also in our low-lying Netherlands.
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The melting is irreversible, the researchers say. Is there really no going back?
These kinds of studies use models that look further: what could happen? Of course there is always a margin of ignorance, but it is certain that the growth of the ice is less than before due to increased greenhouse gas emissions and that the melting is accelerating.
We see that the ice cap in its entirety is shifting due to the meltwater below. This has caused the ice to crumble faster and faster in recent years. In all scenarios. “
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The ice in Greenland has already receded for miles. How important is this island?
“Greenland is gigantic and the second largest island in the world after Australia. Imagine: if all the ice in Greenland melts, the global sea level will rise by six to seven meters. Climate scientists agree that Greenland is now the main contributor to the rise of the global sea level.
If we do not take steps, the current melting rate of the Greenland ice sheet in the year 2100 could cause a rise of 15 centimeters. That is really unimaginable. With the melt water from mountain glaciers in the rest of the world and the ice of Antarctica, the figure is even 84 centimeters. “
What are the consequences of all that meltwater?
“We are already seeing that a small climate change has worldwide consequences for nature and people who depend on agriculture, because of the increase in salt water.
With greater changes, entire inhabited islands will disappear into the sea. Countries without dikes, such as Bangladesh and Mauritius are immediately the leapfrog and are already sounding the alarm. But a country like the Netherlands, which does have dikes, will also get into real trouble if the sea level rises by one meter. “
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Is there also an opposition? That things aren’t going that fast?
“There are always scientists who are skeptical. They point out that more research is needed and we don’t know exactly how many greenhouses we will be emitting in the future.
But within the United Nations, hundreds of scientists all agree that things are changing very quickly. And that the consequences of the melting ice in the medium term are irreversible.
This study is yet another wake-up call to all of us that we are on the verge of major change if we don’t make drastic changes. This requires real political leadership, starting at the UN Climate Summit in Glasgow in November. The time for gambling and idleness is over. “
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