The air temperature in the Arctic has risen to record levels and became the warmest in the last 115 years. This became known from the report of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
NOAA experts note that warming in the Arctic region is happening faster than anywhere else in the world. Over the past year, the air temperature has risen by 1.3 degrees Celsius. This is the highest level since 1900, scientists say.
An increase in temperature leads to the rapid melting of ice, that is, the destruction of the natural habitat of walruses. The report also says that warming will threaten the extinction of some species of birds and mammals, such as mink, muskrat, white-fronted goose and American tundra swan.
Melting ice
Scientists have previously found that the average ice area in the Russian Arctic has more than halved since 1980. The thickness of sea ice has decreased by 40% since 1980.
Also, Russian climatologists have come to the conclusion that ice in Arctic waters will become a seasonal phenomenon by 2050. Long-term observations have shown that in summer the ice area decreases both in the Siberian Arctic seas and in the Arctic as a whole. This process has been accelerating since the 1990s.
As the Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of Russia Sergey Donskoy told the Russia Today MIA, if the climate in the Arctic continues to warm at the same pace as now, the ice in the Arctic seas will become seasonal, that is, the same as in the non-Arctic seas.
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The minister also noted that the melting of permafrost can be very dangerous. It will lead to the disruption of the stability of the Arctic infrastructure and various phenomena, such as gas emissions in Yamal.
Combating global warming
A climate summit ended in Paris last Saturday, the purpose of which was to take measures to slow global warming, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and use natural resources.
The countries agreed to halt the rise in greenhouse gas emissions, begin a rapid transition to clean energy sources, and limit the rise in warming by 2100 to two degrees Celsius.
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However, recent studies have shown that even two degrees of warming can be disastrous for many island states or regions located below sea level. However, if no measures are taken, the temperature rise by the end of the century will reach 2.7-3.5 degrees. This can lead to unpredictable consequences.