Arctic Sea Ice Hits Record Low—Extreme Weather to Come?
Global warming to blame for highest observed decline, scientists say.
The chief culprit? Global warming. The potential upshot? Longer and more intense extreme-weather events such as heat waves, cold spells, and droughts. (Read more about extreme weather in National Geographic magazine.)
On Monday, researchers at the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center said the rate of Arctic sea ice decline is now the highest that has ever been observed for the month of August. In August of this year, the sea ice disappeared at an average rate of about 35,400 square miles (91,700 square kilometers) per day—or about twice as fast as normal, NSIDC scientists say.
Moreover, the area of Arctic sea ice around the North Pole had shrunk to 1.58 million square miles (4.1 million square kilometers)—the smallest
