Greenland: Exceptional! It’s raining on the highest point of the ice cap – Foreign News

This is rare. Very unusual. It was raining in Greenland – on a peak more than 3,000 meters high!

The so-called “Summit Camp” station is located near the highest point in Greenland at an altitude of 3,200 metres.

“You can categorize this if you look at how many times the snowmelt has occurred at the summit. It has been observed three times directly, in the years 2021, 2019 and 2012,” explains climate researcher Dr. Martin Stendel of the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) to BILD.

The average annual temperature is minus 30 degrees, for August – 16 degrees. The highest temperature observed in August is 0.9 degrees.

Climate researcher Stendel on BILD: “Temperatures have been observed since 1987, and since 2008 precipitation has also been observed. During this period, it was the first time it had rained (on top, editor’s note).”

Ice cores offer a glimpse into the past. Because: If the temperature rises above the freezing point, the snow melts and seeps away and freezes again, which can be seen as dark streaks in the drill core. Also, since there is an annual cycle, these events can be easily calculated.

Climate expert Stendl tells BILD: “The result of the past 2,000 years: 1889, 1192, 1094, 992, 758, 753 and 244. In other words: the rain now is very unusual.”