Heat Waves Set Off Record Ice Melt in Greenland Last Month

It was so hot in Canada and the U.S. that ice melted all the way to the North Pole. According to the European Union's Earth observation program, strong winds from North America brought the hot air to the northeast, raising average temperatures there more than 8 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to the previous Septembers.

At an elevation of more than 10,500 feet above sea level, the data from the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center was recorded. Since their records began, the Center has never recorded temperatures that high in that elevation. The effects of the record snowmelt event were seen by everyone. The average temperature in September was the highest since 1979 in most of the island.

More than a third of the ice sheet melted due to the warm temperatures. More than 30 billion tons of water flowed into the ocean from the melting of the ice.

More than 50 million people were under heat warnings and advisories at the beginning of last month.

For some time, scientists and officials have been concerned about the rate of ice melting. The melt events have been worrying. In July, the country's temperature went up to around 60 degrees. It is up to 10 degrees warmer than average for the month.

The scale of this past July's melt is troubling, but it isn't surprising because scientists expect huge melt events in the middle of the summer. NASA says the melt season lasts from May to September. The September melt event was the largest on record and the second largest of the year. The researchers worry that this could happen in the future.

Maurice van Tiggelen, a polar scientist from the University of the Netherlands, told the Washington Post in an email last month that global warming increases the intensity of the melting season.

Climate change is causing the northern part of the planet to warm up quicker than any other part of the planet. Less ice and snow mean less sunlight is reflected away from the world. A feedback loop can be created in which less ice means more heat is absorbed. We don't have enough money to lose more ice.