A new study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications found Arctic sea ice could disappear completely during the month of September as early as the 2030s.
The researchers analyzed changes from 1979 to 2019, comparing different satellite data and climate models to assess how Arctic sea ice was changing.
They found that declining sea ice was largely the result of human-caused, planet-heating pollution, and previous models had underestimated Arctic sea ice melting trends.
Arctic sea ice close the coast of Svalbard, Norway, April 5, 2023.
There has already been a rapid loss of sea ice in the region, with September sea ice shrinking at a rate of 12.6% per decade, according to NASA.
Persons:
–, ” Seung, Min, Lisi Niesner, ” Min, Mika Rantanen, ”, Rantanen, “
Organizations:
CNN, Nature Communications, Pohang University of Science, Technology, UN, NASA, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Finnish Meteorological Institute
Locations:
South Korea, Svalbard, Norway