Arctic summer ice cover shrinks - 23rd October 2020

This summer, the Arctic ice sheet has shrunk to the second lowest level ever recorded.

This year’s minimum was reached on 15th September with just 3.74 million square kilometres according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder, USA.

Some Arctic ice thaws each summer and then reforms in winter but satellite imagery has revealed how this cycle is shrinking. It offers stark evidence of the impact of global warming.

A reduction in ice means less solar radiation is reflected and the oceans become warmer. This exposes the planet to further climate breakdown.

Siberian heatwaves and Arctic wildfires have contributed to the melting of the ice. These, in turn, are due to human caused global warming.

With Arctic temperatures increasing at triple the speed of any other region, scientists fear there could be a total absence of ice as early as 2035.