According to a study published in the journal Nature, Arctic sea ice could disappear into the ocean in the coming 15 years. Researchers claim that Earth is going through another interglacial period called Holocene.
A recent study has compared the planet’s current condition to the ice age that occurred 127,000 years ago.
As per researchers, Dr Louise Sime and Dr maria Vittoria Guarino, explains that by studying the last warm period, they gather crucial information about the sensitivity of polar regions in a warmer world.
Researchers although do state that the temperature increase today is due to anthropogenic heat (human causes) and not the kind from nearly 100,000 years ago when a different configuration of Earth’s orbit around the sun, causing severe spikes in temperature.
Researchers highlight the fact that sea ice — which is essentially frozen ocean — actually helps in keeping temperatures lower as it reflects 80 percent of sunlight, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Centre.
Guarino explains that the rising global temperature rates mean that sea ice is melting at unprecedented rates.
NSIDC reported that Arctic sea ice levels were at record-level lows in June 2020, while also being the earliest in the year that the Northern Sea Route has ever been ice-free.
She said, “The prospect of the loss of sea-ice by 2035 means we should really be focussing all our minds on achieving a low-carbon world as soon as humanly feasible.”
