According to a study by researchers from McGill University Arctic will see ice-free summers by 2050. This is very alarming news… now efficacy of climate-protection measures will determine whether Arctic summer ice vanished permanently or could recover over time.
Arctic ecosystem could be impacted severely by climate change
Currently, Arctic is always covered by sea-ice. In summers, the area of sea-ice coverage decreases and grows again in winter.
However, due to global warming, the overall coverage of Arctic sea ice is decreasing. Now in winters it is expanding less and is retreating more in summers. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 2019, it reached its second-smallest level on record.
Scientists fear it will badly impact Arctic ecosystem and climate. For Arctic animals, like polar bears and seals, the sea-ice cover is a hunting ground and habitat. Not only that, it also helps in keeping the Arctic cool by reflecting sunlight.
Image courtesy Wikimedia
Bruno Tremblay, Associate Professor at McGill University, said, “While the Arctic sea-ice extent is decreasing during this transition to an ice-free Arctic, the year-to-year variability in extent greatly increases, making life more difficult for local populations and ice-dependent species,”
The study was published in Geophysical Research Letters. Scientists declared this fact after analyzing recent results from 40 different climate models.
