September 21, 2020

expert reaction to Arctic sea ice annual minimum

It has been reported by the National Snow and Ice Data Centre, that Arctic sea ice has dropped below 4 million sq-km this year.

Ed Blockley, Met Office Scientific Manager for Polar Climate, said:

“September 2020 is now the second time in the modern record that the extent of Arctic sea ice has dropped below 4 million square kilometres. This threshold has been crossed because this summer has seen several periods of very rapid sea ice loss linked, in part, to the record-breaking heatwave in Siberia. The Arctic is one of the most vulnerable regions on Earth to climate change and warming here will have consequences both for the region and the planet as a whole.”

Prof Julienne Stroeve, Professor of Polar Observation & Modelling, UCL, said:

“I would say it’s quite remarkable that the sea ice extent dropped below 4 million sq-km in a year when the winter air temperatures were closer to the long-term average and winter ice conditions seemed to have slowed down the transfer of crew and cargo during the MOSAiC expedition. This is only the second time in the satellite data record that the summer ice conditions have dropped below 4 million sq-km.”

Dr Twila Moon, Research Scientist, University of Colorado at Boulder, said:

“It’s devastating to see yet another Arctic summer end with so little sea ice. Not only is there a very small area of sea ice, but it also younger and more vulnerable overall. The Arctic is a changed place. All hope rests on humans to act on climate and slow this alarming pace of ice loss.”

“Science has sadly shown that we now live in a changed world, and very low sea ice areas are one indicator. The low sea ice area affects animals that people use for food and the climate that we feel even in countries far from the Arctic. Any hope of slowing the loss of sea ice rests in people and nations all over the world taking action to counter climate change.”

“Arctic sea ice minimum is not a record we want to break, and it’s heartbreaking to see us come so close again this year. The antidote is strong policy and action by citizens across the globe to reduce emissions of polluting gases. Not only will this help to protect Arctic sea ice and the animals and people who depend on it, but also reduce future risks from all climate hazards – from flooding to drought, wildfires, and health and economic impacts of sea level rise. We must act.”

Prof Martin Siegert, Co-Director of the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London, said:

“The situation is well understood at a gross level, that we are causing climate change. The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is over 400ppm, and it hasn’t been that high for something like four million years, when temps were 3-4°C higher and the sea level was 20m higher. So, given enough time that’s where we’ll be.”

Dr Jack Landy, Lecturer & Research Fellow, University of Bristol, said:

“Only a tongue of sea ice drifting out into the Canadian Beaufort Sea is keeping us from setting another record minimum and every year seems to drag the declining sea ice trend steeper and steeper downwards. But we cannot really expect anything else unless the equally record-setting Arctic temperatures start to abate.”

https://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/

Declared interests

None received.