Sept 25 (Reuters) – Sea ice covering the ocean around Antarctica has reached a record low this winter, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said on Monday, adding that the impact of climate change on the continent has reached record lows this winter. Scientists have become increasingly concerned about this. The pole is coming up.
Researchers say this change could have dire consequences for animals like penguins that breed and raise their young on sea ice, while also reducing the amount of sunlight returned to space by white ice. They warn that it may accelerate global warming.
Antarctic sea ice area peaked on September 10 this year, reaching 16.96 million square kilometers (6.55 million square miles), the lowest winter maximum since satellite records began in 1979, NSIDC said. It became the value. This is about 1 million square kilometers less ice than the previous winter record, set in 1986.
“This is not just a record-breaking year, it’s an extreme record-breaking year,” said Walt Meyer, a senior scientist at NSIDC.
NSIDC said in a statement that the figures are provisional and a full analysis is expected to be released next month.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are reversed, with sea ice typically peaking around September, near the end of winter, and then being at its lowest in February or March, nearing the end of summer.
Antarctic summer sea ice extent also hit a record low in February, breaking the previous record set in 2022.
The Arctic has been hit hard by climate change over the past decade, with northern regions warming four times faster than the global average and sea ice rapidly disappearing.
While climate change is contributing to the melting of Antarctic glaciers, it is less clear how rising temperatures are affecting sea ice near the Antarctic. The extent of sea ice there expanded between 2007 and 2016.
The recent shift to record-low temperatures has scientists worried that climate change may finally be showing up in Antarctic sea ice.
Meyer cautioned that it was too early to tell; academic paper A paper published earlier this month in the journal Communication, Earth and Environment pointed to climate change as a potential factor.
The study found that rising ocean temperatures, driven primarily by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, have contributed to the decline in sea ice levels seen since 2016.
“The key message here is that in order to protect the world’s frozen regions, which are really important for a variety of reasons, “The following things are really needed.” This is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ”
Reporting: Jake Spring Editing: Bill Berkrot
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.