Climate Change Is Turning White Arctic Green And Why It's Not Good For Us

Climate change is happening -- from what we saw happen in Australia to what we see happening to the glaciers and iceberg at the poles, it is showing no signs of stopping.

In fact, climate change is accelerating so fast that it's making the Arctic turn from white to green. A worrying sign for all of us.

NASA

As we all know, the Arctic is a white barren land with freezing temperatures that doesn't really let any plant survive. However, now the rising temperature is revealing plants that were once frozen, turning white pastures green.

This data has been revealed thanks to satellite imagery and drone footage. The rise in temperatures is causing the ice to melt faster and the greens to grow sooner than expected, during spring.

Scientists witnessed locales that used to be completely white to show some green whereas places where there used to be some vegetation to thrive in an unprecedented way.

Study lead author Dr Isla Myers-Smith, of the University of Edinburgh's School of GeoSciences, said, "New technologies including sensors on drones, planes and satellites, are enabling scientists to track emerging patterns of greening found within satellite pixels that cover the size of football fields."

Now you might be wondering that there is more greenery which means more oxygen that will aid the fight against pollution and help get rid of global warming, but that isn't really the case.

University of Edinburgh

Researchers have seen such a trend of spiking greenery not just in the Arctic but also freezing locations in Europe and North America.

Changes like this drastically alter the way carbon is released and absorbed in the atmosphere. Small changes like this can cause an imbalance that can severely impact temperatures of the globe.

Sure, the warming of the ground is crucial, but so is the timing for the ice to melt and the wetness in the landscapes.

Co-lead author Dr Jeffrey Kerby, who was a Neukom Fellow at Dartmouth College while conducting the research, said, ¡°Besides collecting new imagery, advances in how we process and analyse these data - even imagery that is decades old - are revolutionising how we understand the past, present, and future of the Arctic.¡±