Off The Record

6 Ways Loss Of Arctic Ice Can Impact The Entire World

Published on July 23, 2024

Polar ice caps are melting as a result of climate change due to global warming. The oldest and thickest ice in the Arctic has decreased by an astounding 95% in the last 30 years. We are losing sea ice in the Arctic at a pace of about 13% every decade.

By 2040, the Arctic may have no ice in the summer if emissions go uncontrolled. However, events that take place in the Arctic do not remain there. Globally, sea ice loss has a significant impact.

The Effects

1. The temperature

The world’s refrigerator is found in the Arctic and Antarctic.

They counteract other regions of the earth that absorb heat because their white blankets of snow and ice reflect heat back into space.

Worldwide heatwaves will be more intense when there is less ice because less ice reflects heat. However, it also means more severe winters because, as warmer air destabilizes the polar jet stream, which orbits the Arctic, it can dip south and bring extremely frigid temperatures with it.

2. Coastal communities

Since 1900, the average sea level has increased globally by 7-8 inches, and the situation is becoming worse.

Because rising oceans exacerbate coastal flooding and storm surge, they put coastal towns and tiny island nations at risk from extreme weather occurrences.

The Greenland ice sheet’s glacial melt largely predicts future sea level rise; if it melts completely, sea levels might rise by 20 feet.

3. Food

Global food systems’ primary crops are already suffering severe harm from polar vortexes, more frequent heat waves, and unpredictable weather brought on by ice loss.

The world’s most vulnerable people will continue to face greater crises and increased prices as a result of this instability.

4. Shipping

In the Arctic, new shipping routes become available when the ice melts.

These routes will seem like great time-savers, but they are also very risky. Imagine more oil spills or shipwrecks in places that are unreachable to cleanup or rescue workers, similar to Exxon-Valdez.

5. Wildlife

Animals that depend on sea ice for survival must adapt or go extinct when there is less of it.

For numerous species, including polar bears, walruses, arctic foxes, snowy owls, and reindeer, the loss of ice and melting permafrost portends disaster.

Other species that depend on them, in addition to humans, are also impacted. Because their sea ice home is disappearing, wildlife is encroaching on Arctic towns, increasing the frequency of encounters—and often conflict—between them and people.

6. Permafrost

Methane, one of the greenhouse gases that contributes to climate change, is stored in vast quantities in permafrost, or permanently frozen ground, and Arctic ice.

That methane is released when it thaws, speeding up global warming. Consequently, more ice and permafrost thaw or melt as a result, releasing more methane and increasing melting.

The worst climate change projections will begin to materialize as we lose more ice faster and as permafrost melts faster.

But something can be done about climate change.

Our best hope of ensuring a safer future for everyone is to limit the increase in global temperature, averting even more dire effects than those that have already occurred.

We can avert the worst consequences of climate change if we limit the rise to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F). But in the interim, it’s critical to support wildlife and communities in adapting to already-occurring changes.

In order to achieve these crucial objectives, WWF collaborates with local authorities, governments, and other stakeholders globally to swiftly and dramatically cut emissions and assist nature and people in getting ready for the numerous effects of a changing climate.

For instance, to aid local populations and species that are at risk of extinction, WWF is piloting novel on-the-ground initiatives.