The ice сover of Antarctica has shrunk to the minimum level since 1979, amounting to 1.79 million square kilometers. Ice is melting at record levels and threatens global climate change, The Guardian reports.
By February 25, 136,000 square kilometers of ice had melted in two weeks of time, which is twice the area of Tasmania. Will Hobbs, an expert on Antarctic sea ice at the University of Tasmania, said that sunlight is not the cause of Antarctic ice melting. He claims that it is difficult for the sun to melt sea ice because it is reflective.
He and other scientists said the new record was broken for the third time in six years. The record shrinking of the ice layer is threatening a serious rise in the world ocean level and global climate change. One of the main threats the scientific community sees is the Thwaites Glacier, or "Doomsday Glacier," in the Amundsen Sea. When it melts, the ocean can rise by half a meter.
"Antarctica may seem far away to us, but changes there will affect the global climate and melting ice sheets will affect coastal communities around the world. Everyone should be concerned about what's happening in Antarctica," says Arian Perich, a climatologist at Monash University.
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