May 4, 2017

90 scientists: Arctic is unraveling

Observer - The National Snow and Ice Center reported that Arctic sea ice in March 2017 was the lowest it has ever been for the month of March since satellites began recording sea ice extent 38 years ago. NASA noted that between 1976 and 1996 average sea ice loss in the Arctic was 8,300 square miles per year. Between 1996 and 2013, this number more than doubled to 19,500 square miles per year.  A recent report that boasts contributions from more than 90 scientists detailed the drastic impacts climate change is having on the Arctic, a region of earth that is warming more than twice as fast as the rest of the planet.

“The take-home message is that the Arctic is unraveling,” Rafe Pomerance, former deputy assistant secretary of state for environment and development under Bill Clinton and the chairman of Arctic 21, told Nature in an interview. “The fate of the Arctic has to be moved out of the world of scientific observation and into the world of government policy.”

No comments: