Researchers worry that during the strongest anomalous warming this July in Greenland, when the temperature there was more than 10 ° C above the seasonal norm, the area of mass melting of the local ice sheet increased sharply. Scientists from the Danish Meteorological Institute wrote about this on the Polar Portal.
In the north of the island, temperatures at the end of July exceeded 20 ° C, which is more than double the normal average temperature during this period. For example, at Nerlerit Inaat airport in northeastern Greenland, 23.4 ° C was recorded on July 29: this is a record for the entire observation period.
According to scientists, since July 28, the Greenland ice sheet has been melting about 8 billion tons per day. This is twice the average summer rate.
As Polar Portal put it, mass melting, although not as extreme as in 2019, in one day gave the volume of water that would be enough to cover a five-centimeter layer of an area five times larger than Crimea.
The area where the massive melting took place is larger this year than two years ago. Meanwhile, scientists reassure that the relatively cool beginning of summer and precipitation then give hope that the annual ice sheet disappearance will remain within the historical norm.
According to European researchers, by 2100 the ocean level will rise by 10-18 cm. This will happen 60% faster than previously thought.
