How Melting Polar Ice Affects Us
Polar ice caps are melting as the planet gets warmer. Arctic sea ice is declining by nearly 13% per decade. Over the past 30 years, the oldest and thickest ice in the Arctic has been reduced by a whopping 95%. At this rate, the Arctic could be ice free in the summer by 2040. Sea ice loss has far-reaching effects around the world. Here’s how the melting sea ice is already affecting us.
1. Temperatures–The snow and ice of polar regions reflect heat into space, balancing out other parts of the world that absorb heat. With less ice there’s less reflected heat, producing more intense heatwaves worldwide. Destabilized by warmer air, the polar jet stream can also produce more extreme winters when it dips south, bringing bitter cold with it.
2. Coastal Communities–The average sea level has risen by about 8” since 1900 and it’s still going. Rising seas endanger coastal cities and small island nations by increasing flooding and storm surges.
3. Food–Polar vortexes, increased heat waves, and unpredictability of weather caused by ice loss are already causing significant damage to crops the world depends on. This instability produces higher prices and growing crises for the world’s most vulnerable.
4. Shipping–As ice melts, new shipping routes will open up in the Arctic. These routes would save time but would be incredibly dangerous. Shipwrecks and oil spills in inaccessible areas would be disastrous.
5. Wildlife–When there’s less sea ice, animals that depend on it for survival must adapt or perish. Loss of ice and melting permafrost jeopardizes polar bears, arctic foxes, snowy owls, reindeer, and many other species. As they are affected, so are the other species that depend on them, in addition to people. Wildlife and people are coming into more frequent contact –and often conflict–as wildlife encroach on Arctic communities, looking for refuge as their sea ice habitat disappears.
6. Permafrost–Arctic ice and permafrost (ground that is permanently frozen) store large amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. When it thaws, that methane is released, increasing the rate of warming. This, in turn, causes more ice and permafrost to thaw, in a vicious cycle of melting and warming.
Limiting the increase in global temperature is our best chance of securing a safer future for all, preventing even more damaging consequences than we’ve already seen. For more information, visit www.worldwildlife.org.