Over 18 Billion Tons of Water Flooding for Three Days from 15th to 17th
"Current Temperature Makes It Impossible for Ski-Equipped Planes to Land"
Greenland glaciers are melting faster than expected. Photo by UCI/NASA
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] Last week, claims emerged that temperatures in northern Greenland were higher than usual, causing glaciers to melt faster.
On the 20th (local time), the US CNN reported, citing local scientists, that daytime temperatures in northern Greenland rose to 16 degrees Celsius, more than 5 degrees above the average for recent days, causing meltwater from the continental glaciers to form rivers and flow massively into the sea.
According to the US National Snow and Ice Data Center, from the 15th to the 17th, an average of 6 billion tons of glacier ice melted daily in Greenland, totaling 18 billion tons of water flowing into the sea. Six billion tons of water is enough to fill 7.2 million Olympic-sized swimming pools or to submerge the entire state of West Virginia (about two-thirds the size of South Korea) under 30 cm of water.
Ted Scambos, a senior scientist at the Snow and Ice Data Center, said, "Looking at the 30 to 40-year climate average, the amount of glacier melt in Greenland last week was abnormal," adding, "The trend has been for more glacier melting, but this time it was abrupt."
The scientific community is concerned that this year might repeat the situation of 2019, when 532 billion tons of meltwater flowed into the sea due to rapid glacier melting, CNN reported. At that time, abnormal high temperatures in spring and July caused nearly the entire surface of the Greenland continental glacier to melt, raising global sea levels by 1.5 mm. If all the glaciers in Greenland were to melt, global sea levels are expected to rise by 7.5 meters.
Most scientists analyze that the increase in greenhouse gases from fossil fuel use has raised global temperatures, changing the climate and causing Greenland's glaciers to melt rapidly. In 2020, researchers at Ohio State University in the US published a study concluding that the Greenland continental glacier's recovery is impossible due to climate change. After analyzing 34 years of Greenland glacier data, the researchers concluded that annual snowfall can no longer compensate for the glacier melt during summer.
Scientists staying in Greenland are also reportedly feeling the effects of warming. Aslak Grinsted, a climatologist at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, said, "The current temperature is so high that planes with skis cannot land." CNN reported that scientists take advantage of relatively warm weather during breaks to wear shorts and play volleyball on the glacier.
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