For the first time in recorded history, rain fell on Greenland's peak of Greenland's ice sheet
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Greenland experienced rain at its highest point on the ice sheet, for the first time in over a decade. This is the latest sign that climate change is affecting all parts of the globe.
According to the U.S. National Snow & Ice Data Center on Aug. 14, rain fell on an area of 10,551 feet above sea level. This is an unusual occurrence in a region that sees very low temperatures.
It was also the newest date that scientists had recorded temperatures above freezing at Summit Station of the National Science Foundation.
Rainfall coincided with the most recent melt event of the ice sheet, in which temperatures rise enough to cause thick ice to melt.
Extreme weather events have become more common due to rising global temperatures caused by climate change. The Greenland Ice Sheet doesn't seem to be an exception.
In July, there were two major melts. Scientists also documented melt events on the ice sheets in 2012 and 1995. The center stated that melting was not evident in ice cores before then.
According to scientists, the melting that occurred during August's rain was similar to that that occurred in July. This happened after "a strong low-pressure center over Baffin Island" and "high air pressure southeast Greenland," which pushed warm air north.
Greenland's Ice Sheet is one of only two in the world. The other Antarctica Ice Sheet covers 656,000 square miles.
Climate change is causing Arctic regions to heat twice as fast as other parts of the world. Since the mid-19th century, global average temperatures have increased by about 1 degree Celsius or nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit. This is due to the rise of industrialization and fossil fuel usage. Since mid-1900, the Arctic has seen an increase of almost 2 degrees Celsius.
A 2020 study concluded that Greenland and Antarctica have lost enough ice in the last 16 year to fill Lake Michigan. People far away from Greenland are affected by the melting. Sea level rise is a result of melting ice, which threatens coastal communities all over the globe with flooding.
