New Delhi (NVI): Antarctica’s south pole, recorded warming that was three times higher than the global average from 1989 to 2018, according to a new study.
However, based on the study published in Nature Climate Change, this rate of warming was not consistent across Antarctica. The results find that the rate of warming at the south pole was seven times higher than across the continent as a whole.
The record heat was driven largely by natural swings in Antarctica’s climate, but appears very likely that it worked in tandem with human-caused warming.
Notably, Antarctica holds enough ice that, if all melted, would raise global sea levels by around 60 metre.
In addition to this, the rate at which Antarctic ice loss has contributed to sea level rise has accelerated in recent years. Most of the ice loss is occurring in West Antarctica, where many land glaciers are coming into direct contact with warm ocean waters.
The study’s lead author, Dr Kyle Clem, a polar researcher at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, said, “Research over the past couple decades revealed the Antarctic plateau, the coldest and one of the most remote places on Earth, had been cooling while global temperatures were increasing…Our study has found that this is no longer the case. The south pole is now one of the fastest warming regions on the planet, warming at an incredible three times faster than the global average rate.”
Temperatures in Antarctica generally stay well below freezing. Annual temperatures average around -49C, with the coldest temperature ever recorded being -82.8C.
Furthermore, based on the study’s analysis, the south pole saw four record-high annual average temperatures during the 21st century – in 2002, 2009, 2013 and 2018.
The ‘dominant’ likely driver of the increased warming at the south pole over the past three decades is likely to be natural swings in Antarctica’s climate.
Human-caused warming is also causing significant ice melt, but it is still not clear to what extent. Climate change has caused significant ice loss from Antarctica, even if its fingerprint in the frozen interior of the continent is difficult to detect.
-CHK
