The Role Of The Arctic In Global Climate Change

Residents of the Arctic say their world is melting in front of their eyes — and those changes have global effects.

The most dramatic evidence of climate change is probably the vanishing sea ice, the ice that grows on the Arctic Ocean. 

The ice sheet on Greenland holds the equivalent of ten feet of global sea level rise. It used to melt mostly along the edges. Now warm air is creating rivers of melt water across the ice sheet.  

Greenland’s melt has already raised global sea levels by half an inch. Even if nations could cut emissions to zero relatively soon, scientists think Greenland’s water will add up to four inches to the global ocean by 2100. That will raise  coastal flooding risks across the globe.