Scientists from Denmark have recorded a record temperature in Greenland. This led to large-scale melting of ice in this area.
The researchers noticed that the Greenland ice sheet experienced “massive melting” during the heatwave, when temperatures exceeded the seasonal norm by more than 10 degrees. The shield, which covers the vast Arctic territory, was melting at about 8 billion tons per day, double its usual average speed in summer, according to the Polar Portal website, where Danish researchers publish their findings.
The Danish Meteorological Institute recorded temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius in northern Greenland, more than double the usual average summer temperature. And at the airport Nerlerit Inaat in the northeast, 23.4 degrees were recorded, which is the highest figure since the beginning of this record.
On the day that the heat swept most of Greenland, the Polar Portal website reported a massive melt – the water that formed could cover the entire state of Florida with water as thick as five centimeters. However, this is not the largest melting of the Greenland ice sheet – it happened in the summer of 2019.
The Greenland Ice Sheet is the second largest mass of freshwater ice on the planet with an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometers, second only to Antarctica. The melting of the ice sheet began in 1990 and has accelerated since 2000. The weight loss in recent years has been roughly four times greater than it was before 2000, Polar Portal researchers say.
Researchers, using computer simulations, have determined that ocean levels will rise 10-18 centimeters by 2100 – 60% faster than previously thought.
