Greenland’s ice sheet melted 17 times faster than usual during a May heatwave, as reported by World Weather Attribution (WWA) on Wednesday. The rapid melting also impacted Iceland, where record temperatures were recorded. The Arctic is extremely sensitive to climate change, warming four times faster than the rest of the Earth since 1979, according to a recent study in Nature.
The report highlighted the seven hottest days in Iceland and the record-breaking temperature in eastern Greenland. The Ittoqqortoormiit station in Greenland recorded 14.3°C on May 19, 13 degrees above the monthly average. Egilsstadir Airport in Iceland reached a new high of 26.6°C, the warmest May temperature ever recorded in the area.
Friederike Otto, a climate science associate professor at Imperial College London and one of the report’s authors, highlighted that the Greenland ice sheet’s accelerated melting rate – estimated to be 17 times higher – has significantly increased its contribution to sea level rise due to the recent heat wave. She emphasized that without climate change, such drastic impact would not have occurred.
During the heatwave in eastern Greenland, the temperature spiked by about 3.9°C above preindustrial levels, a significant deviation. Otto emphasized the impact, noting that even a 20°C variance may seem ordinary globally, but in this region, it’s highly consequential. She highlighted the widespread influence, indicating that such events hold tremendous global significance.
The warmer temperatures and melting ice threaten Greenland’s indigenous communities by affecting their hunting on the ice, jeopardizing livelihoods and traditions. These changes also damage infrastructure in Greenland and Iceland, with floods from ice melt jeopardizing cold weather infrastructure like roads and buildings.
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