Bad news: Study reveals the Arctic is warming much faster than previously thought

Mike Letterman

Aug 11, 2022, 7:12 PM
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According to a new study, the northern part of the planet is warming more quickly than previously thought.

According to a new study published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, the increase in the number of years in the last 43 has been 3.8 times faster than the global average.

The warming in the northern part of the world has been more rapid than in the rest of the world. The study states that numerous studies report that the Arctic is warming more than twice or three times as fast as the globe on average. By using several observational datasets which cover theArctic region, we show that the region has been warming four times faster than the globe, which is a higher ratio than generally reported in literature.

The Barents Sea, which borders Russia, has been warming up to seven times the global average, according to one of the study's authors.

Mika Rantanen said on August 11, 2017:

The new study says that prior scientific assessments of the rate of warming in theArctic were a clear underestimation of the situation.

A bearded seal near the Norwegian Svalbard Islands in the Arctic Ocean. (Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Warming due to the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is threatening the polar ice caps. That melting is poised to cause sea levels to rise dramatically in the coming decades, and could alsotrigger what scientists refer to asfeedback loops, which will further speed the rate of global warming.

White sea ice reflecting the sun's radiation back into space is referred to as the "albedo effect." The radiation absorbed by the Earth's darker surface and waters is further warming the planet. The albedo effect is behind the increased rate of warming.

A second feedback loop occurs with the melting of theArctic permafrost, which releases previously frozen carbon and methane stores that further increase temperatures while also potentially unleashingviruses andbacteria.

Climate scientists warn that unless drastic action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, global warming will continue, polar ice caps will melt, oceans will rise and life will be put at risk.

The House of Representatives is expected to pass the first major climate change legislation in the US on Friday. The bill passed along party lines in the Senate and is expected to face opposition in the House.