The National Snow and Ice Center said that the maximum measurement made last Saturday was 14.33 million square kilometers, about 80,000 square kilometers less than the lowest previous peak, recorded in 2017.
Him Arctic sea ice He recorded his accumulation in lower winter since the registers started 47 years ago. It is An alarming symptom of climate change that will have repercussions all over the worldHe said a group of scientists on Thursday.
The Arcto reaches its maximum thickness of sea ice in March of each year and then begins a six -month defrosting season. The National Snow and Ice Data Center He stressed that the maximum measurement made last Saturday was 14.33 million square kilometersAbout 80,000 square kilometers less than the lowest previous peak, recorded in 2017. This is a difference in the size of California.
“The increase in temperatures on the planet is what is causing a decrease in ice“The scientist said he specialized in ice data, Walt Meier.” Marine ice, in particular, is very sensitive. Therefore, about 31 degrees medium fahrenheit of ice skating and 33 degrees become swimming, “he added.
The loss of sea ice is an early alert system
Jennifer Francis, scientist of the Woodwell Center for Climate Research in Cape Cod, said that it is another signal of scratched disc alarm. “The disappearance of sea ice is a particularly worrying question, because it is truly a system of early alert that He warns us of a series of difficult changes to be observed“Francis said in one and -mail.
Scientists say that the Arctic heating, the Region He is warming up four times faster than the rest of the worldIt affects time in other places. The differences in pressure and temperature between North and South are reduced. That weakens the jet flowThat moves the weather systems, making it immerse further south with cold sprouts and storms that are often affected and rains or snow more, according to the indications of the National Snow and Ice Data Center and Francis.
“The heating of the winter atmosphere above the Arctic circle Has an impact on large -scale weather models that influence For those outside the Arctic, “says Julienne Stroeve, scientist of the University of Manitoba specialized in ice.
As for the decrease in sea ice, Stroeve also stressed that it is not only that there is less. The remaining ice It is good to dissolve quickly this summerStroeve said. Therefore, he warned that a minimum record in winter does not guarantee a minimum record in the summer.
According to scientists, the Arctic sea ice towerEspecially in summer, it is reducing the population of polar bears and makes them weaker and hungry, Since they depend on sea ice to hunt. “The layer of winter seafood is particularly important for fishing and the offspring of seals,” said Meier.
Marine ice decreases in the four stations
The largest year of sea ice in Arctic Since there are records were 1979, with 16.64 million square kilometers recorded. This means that, since the satellites began to trace it, The Arctic winter fish peak has been reduced to a surface similar to that of Pakistan.
When winter marine ice does not record anomalies, more than half of the earth can be extended to Ecuador, reaching Japan, China and the Gulf of San Lorenzo in Canada, said Walt Meier. According to MEIER, The extension of sea ice decreases in the four stationsBut the most important for the general health of Arctic ice is summer. This is because the ice without ice is heated more quickly, maintain more heat and make warmer and more loose in autumn and winter.
The five lower quantities of maximum marine sea ice in winter occurred since 2015. In early March, Antarctica He was about to beat A record regarding the low quantity of sea iceThis is the period of the year in which the Region reaches its minimum and has closed the second lowest sea level ever recorded.
Generally, There is more sea ice in Antarctica and the two poles have a slightly different calendar. However, “in February, World Sea Ice, the combination of Arctic and Antarctica, reached a historical minimum,” concluded Meier.
