Higher temperatures, warmer air, and higher soil moisture are stimulating plant growth in the Arctic circle, turning parts of the treeless tundra in the northern reaches of the world green.
According to the annual Arctic Report Card 2021, produced by the National Snow and Ice Data Centre, a wing of the United States-based scientific agency National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the rise in temperature due to the influence of climate change is transforming the Arctic into a “dramatically different state”.
The report adds that ice covers are melting in the Arctic circle, once a reliably frozen part of the world. “The loss of ice drives its transformation into a warmer, less frozen and more uncertain future,” reads the study.
Since the mid-1960s, the Arctic has warmed up by nearly 3 degrees Celsius, which is more than double the global average. Besides, Arctic temperature levels in 2021 were the seventh warmest on record. The study also points out that the October-to-December 2020 period was the warmest Arctic autumn on record dating back to 1900.
The landscape change in the uppermost reaches of Arctic tundra, including Alaska, the Northern coast of Canada, Siberia and the northernmost parts of Norway may have hazardous climatic ramifications in the long run. The most notable impacts will be melting of ice and the consequent rise in river water volume.
The loss of sea ice has already become evident in the region. In April 2021, it was found that the Laptev Sea off the coast of northern Siberia had its lowest recorded sea ice. Similarly, the Greenland ice sheet is also losing its mass rapidly. In fact, the summit of Greenland, for the first time in recorded history, had rain (not snow) in August 2021. Also, fishing boats were able to travel farther north in the last few years due to the melting of sea ice. This led to more trash accumulation in the region.
(Edited by : Aditi Gautam)
First Published: IST
