Antarctica records the largest amount of melted ice in a single day
The climate change situation is getting worse
Climate change is becoming a bigger reality. Data presented this week by the Global Forecast System reveal that Antarctica reached a record for the largest amount of melted ice in a single day, which is a weather emergency.
Approximately 15% of the surface of the continent melted on December 24, being the largest record in Antarctica since 1979. As a result, water production due to thaw from November 2019 to today was also record, 230% more high than average, according to the researcher at the University of the Belgian city of Liege Xavier Fettweis. "The region has been significantly hotter than average," he added.
MAR forced by GFS suggests that the highest melt extent over Antarctica in the modern area (> 1979) has been reached on 24-Dec-2019 with ~ 15%. From Nov 2019 until today, the production of melt water is also a record with 230% higher than average but the melting season is not ended pic.twitter.com/MT0QKCJ47e
- Xavier Fettweis (@xavierfettweis) December 27, 2019
For the first time, melting seemed to explain a negative anomaly in the data on the surface mass balance of Antarctica, that is, the balance between what makes the surface of a glacier grow or deplete, according to the researcher.
On the other hand, the meteorologist of the Institute of Environment of the University of Minessota Enric Holthaus considers that “we are facing a climatic emergency”.
New data indicates that on Christmas Eve, unusually warm weather melted the most ice across the continent of Antarctica in a single day out of any day in recorded history.
15% of the continent surface melted, temporarily.
We are in a climate emergency. https://t.co/BooH7saMkU
- Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) December 27, 2019
