CLIMATE CHANGE
Poles Are Melting, So What?
What really are the global consequences of melting ice caps and glaciers?
New research alarmingly points in the same direction: glaciers and ice caps are melting. The Arctic could become ice-free within the next decade. Antarctica is hitting record-low icy cover year after year, both for summer and winter. Glaciers in Antarctica are losing their structural integrity, which will accelerate their melting; Greenland has already lost more ice than we previously thought. These are not models; these are empirical observations.
At first, you may be tempted to rub your shoulders and claim, “Who cares? It’s just less ice; this will not affect me.” But is it true?
We know that glaciers and ice caps are melting. What consequences could these trends have on human populations? Let’s dig deeper.
Sea Level Rise
The primary driver of the rise in sea level is the addition of water from melting land ice. But it is important to note that sea ice doesn’t have the same effect. Imagine you have ice cubes floating on water. Once they melt, the…
