Arctic may see ice-free summers in as few as 15 years, study says

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Arctic may see ice-free summers in as few as 15 years, study says

 

 

Arctic may see ice-free summers in as few as 15 years, study says
Doyle Rice
USA TODAY
Summers may be ice-free in the Arctic as soon as 2034, a new study suggests.

    Sea ice is frozen ocean water that melts each summer, then refreezes each winter.
    The Arctic is warming more than twice as fast as the rest of the planet.
    The study used statistical models to predict the future amount of Arctic ice.

Climate change is taking its toll on one of the world's coldest places.

A study suggests that the Arctic "may be essentially ice-free during summer within 15 years."

The study used statistical models to predict the future amount of Arctic ice, which suggested that the Arctic could be ice-free in the summer during the decade of the 2030s – most likely in the year 2034.

Sea ice is frozen ocean water that melts each summer, then refreezes each winter. The amount of summer sea ice in the Arctic has been steadily shrinking over the past few decades because of global warming. It reached its second-smallest level on record in 2019, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said.

Sea ice affects Arctic communities and wildlife such as polar bears and walruses, and it helps regulate the planet’s temperature by influencing the circulation of the atmosphere and ocean.

 

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