Here's Why The Arctic Sea Ice Crashed To A Record Low Recently
An ongoing heatwave and wildfires in Siberia has led to a record low in Arctic regions sea ice. The oceans above Russia and Siberia have a particularly glaring lack of ice. Sea ice is the lowest on record along the Siberian side of the Arctic, especially in the Laptev Sea.
For years now, a major concern among conservationists has been melting ice caps of glaciers and ice belts. The Arctic Ocean is at forefront of a dramatic change.
For those unaware, the Arctic is warming at
double the rate of the rest of the planet, which is why some of the earliest
effects of climate change are felt in the region.
Image For Representation/Reuters
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.
Brace yourself. This is the 2020 Arctic ice melt season (so far) in 3 seconds...
¡ª Scott From Scotland (@ScottDuncanWX) July 22, 2020
The orange line is the 30 year average ice extent for the time of year.
We are missing more than 2.5 MILLION square kilometers of Arctic sea by mid July.
That is over 467,000,000 football fields. pic.twitter.com/TOCeWRf08f
According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (CCCS), in the past month, the most above-average temperatures were recorded in Siberia, where they were about 10 degrees Celsius above normal. Zachary Labe, a climate scientist at Colorado State University's Department of Atmospheric Science "Due to the wide open ocean, which would normally still be sea ice-covered, sea surface temperatures are rising more than 5 C (9 F) above average as sunshine (heat) is absorbed into the water.¡±
Nope, none yet. Arctic sea ice near record lows at the moment pic.twitter.com/WsTBIxgBaw
¡ª Eric Fisher (@ericfisher) November 18, 2017
Also Read: Arctic Fires In 2020: Deadly Arctic Wildfires Are Causing Record-Breaking Pollution
The orange lines in the map below show sea ice has vastly diminished during this year's summer:
nsidc.org
Sea ice loss accelerated in early- to mid-July, bringing sea ice extent, which measures the area of ocean where there's some ice cover, down to record-low levels for this time of the year.
Sea ice is the lowest on record along the Siberian side of the Arctic, especially in the Laptev Sea, noted Zachary Labe, a climate scientist at Colorado State University's Department of Atmospheric Science. In total, Arctic sea ice is about 500,000 square kilometres (some 193,000 square miles) under the previous the record low for this time of year.
Savage heat for several days incoming for #Siberia. Again.
¡ª Scott From Scotland (@ScottDuncanWX) July 19, 2020
Next week will see temperatures above + 30 ¡ãC on the fringe of the Arctic ocean.
The intense heat will help warm the sea surface. This would normally be impossible but the ice that usually shields the sea has melted. pic.twitter.com/QXS3Y8LUBf
The Arctic Ocean 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
The temperature also resulted in fires across Siberia, drawing upon a major concern for the researchers. In a Tweet posted on June 22, Mark Parrington, senior scientist at the European Centre for Medium-Range Forecasts (ECMRF), said, ¡°Number & intensity of #wildfires in NE #Siberia/#Arctic Circle has continued to increase over the last few days¡±.
The unprecedented disappearance of sea ice in the Arctic this summer is a mind-blowing manifestation of the changes we are causing to Earth's climate. pic.twitter.com/NZmcCt5wlZ
¡ª Simon Lee (@SimonLeeWx) July 20, 2020
Earlier in June, Russia declared a state of emergency after a power plant fuel leak in its Arctic region caused 20,000 tonnes of diesel oil to escape into a local river called Ambarnaya. The major oil spill stemmed from thawing permafrost.
Look how much Arctic sea ice is missing (?) compared to what would be considered normal in the 1980s...
¡ª Scott From Scotland (@ScottDuncanWX) July 16, 2020
Nearly 3 *MILLION* km? of Arctic sea ice is missing.
A vast area which was once ice field at this time of year is now open water.
[THREAD] pic.twitter.com/ILpA6WzXxo
According to reports the most significant reasons behind the heatwave and the wildfires is climate change; earth as a whole is warming up due to human emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and the most noticeable effects are in the arctic region.
Image For Representation/Reuters
"Without a large-scale reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, these types of extreme events will become more frequent in the 21st century," said Labe. "2020 is another alarm bell,¡± said Zachary Labe, a climate scientist at Colorado State University.