For yearsnow, a major concern among conservationists has been melting icecaps of glaciers and ice belts. The Arctic Ocean is at forefront of a dramatic change.?
For those unaware, the Arctic is warming atdouble the rate of the rest of the planet, which is why some of the earliesteffects of climate change are felt in the region.
According to new research, an ongoing heatwave and wildfires in Siberia have led to a record low in Arctic regions sea ice.? The oceans above Russia and Siberia have a particularly glaring lack of ice.
According tothe Copernicus Climate Change Service (CCCS), in the past month, the mostabove-average temperatures were recorded in Siberia, where they were about 10degrees Celsius above normal. Zachary Labe, a climate scientist at ColoradoState University's Department of Atmospheric Science "Due to the wide openocean, which would normally still be sea ice-covered, sea surface temperaturesare rising more than 5 C (9 F) above average as sunshine (heat) is absorbedinto the water.¡±
Also Read:?Arctic Fires In 2020: Deadly Arctic Wildfires Are Causing Record-Breaking Pollution
The orangelines in the map below show sea ice has vastly diminished during thisyear's summer:
Sea ice lossaccelerated in early- to mid-July, bringing sea ice extent, which measures thearea of ocean where there's some ice cover, down to record-low levels for thistime of the year.
Sea ice isthe lowest on record along the Siberian side of the Arctic, especially in theLaptev Sea, noted Zachary Labe, a climate scientist at Colorado StateUniversity's Department of Atmospheric Science. In total, Arctic sea ice isabout 500,000 square kilometres (some 193,000 square miles) under the previous the record low for this time of year.
The ArcticOcean is witnessing a series of changes, including ice melt season,above-average temperature and high-pressure system across the Central Arctic.
Also Read: Climate Change Will Cause Two-Storeys High Arctic Waves, And Damage Coastal Areas
Thetemperature also resulted in fires across Siberia, drawing upon a major concernfor the researchers. In a Tweet posted onJune 22, Mark Parrington, senior scientist at the European Centre forMedium-Range Forecasts (ECMRF), said, ¡°Number & intensity of #wildfires inNE #Siberia/#Arctic?Circle has continued to increase over the last fewdays¡±.
Earlier inJune, Russia declared a state of emergency after a power plant fuel leak in itsArctic region caused 20,000 tonnes of diesel oil to escape into a local rivercalled Ambarnaya. The major oil spill stemmed from thawing permafrost.
According toreports the most significant reasons behind the heatwave and thewildfires is climate change; earth as a whole is warming up due to humanemissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and the most noticeableeffects are in the arctic region.
"Withouta large-scale reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, these types of extremeevents will become more frequent in the 21st century," said Labe."2020 is another alarm bell,¡± said Zachary Labe, a climate scientist atColorado State University.