Arctic temperatures are rising four times faster

The Arctic is warming at a rate of 0.75 degrees per decade, according to a study by scientists from Norway and Finland published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment on Thursday. Previous climate models assumed a much slower rise in temperatures.

Warming is increasing rapidly

This is what she said in a report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2019, warming is progressing at twice the rate of the global average. This is due to a phenomenon known as “Arctic amplification”. When ice and snow, which normally reflect sunlight, melt into sea water, there is an amplifying effect as the dark water absorbs the heat of the sunlight.

Scientists from Norway and Finland have now examined four temperature data sets collected by Arctic satellites since 1979. They have found that warming is progressing faster than previously thought. Co-author Antti Lipponen of the Finnish Meteorological Institute said the results were “somewhat surprising” because they were much higher than previous data. Speak in favor of putting climate modeling to the test.

global consequences

Extreme warming in the Arctic has global consequences. Scientists are warning in particular that the Greenland ice sheet is melting, which could lead to a sea level rise of about six metres. “Climate change is man-made,” Libonin said. “Something is happening in the Arctic and it will affect all of us.”