Declining Arctic sea ice has long been a graphic measure of human-induced climate change, and harrowing images of suffering polar bears show a worsening global crisis. Now, new research has found that Arctic sea ice is shrinking even faster than previously thought, with the Arctic facing its first “ice-free” days within the next decade. It is said that there is a sex. From the report: That troubling juncture could occur at the end of this century or sometime in the 2030s, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, which is faster than previously predicted. It is said to be up to 10 years earlier. The study defines “ice-free” as less than 1 million square kilometers (386,000 square miles) of Arctic sea ice.
By mid-century, from 2035 to 2067, the Arctic could experience consistent ice-free conditions in September, when sea ice concentrations are typically at their lowest, the study found. The exact timing of such losses will depend on how quickly humanity can reduce fossil fuel emissions that cause global warming. In a high-emissions scenario in which fossil fuel use continues unabated, the Arctic would be ice-free between May and January by 2100, the study says. Even under the low-emissions scenario, the Arctic would be ice-free from August to October of the same year.
