Published by World Economic Forum. Written by Ida Erikson. This article is published in collaboration with Futurity.
Temperatures in the Arctic Ocean between Canada, Russia, and Europe are warming faster than climate models have been able to predict, according to a new study that shows Arctic sea ice is melting more quickly than once assumed.
Image: Unsplash/Torsten Dederichs, World Economic Forum
The Arctic sea ice is melting at a rate far faster than almost all climate models predicted. In fact, only models based on the worst-case scenario come close to what temperature measurements show over the past 40 years. More research is needed to simulate and predict sea ice melt.
“Over the past 40 years, temperatures have risen by one degree Celsius every decade.”
Temperatures have risen even more over the Barents Sea and around Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, where they have increased by 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) per decade throughout the period.
Until now, climate models predicted that Arctic temperatures would increase slowly and in a stable manner. However, the researchers’ analysis demonstrates that these changes are moving along at a much faster pace than expected.
Read the full article from World Economic Forum.