Arctic Sea Ice Could Be Completely Gone By 2035, Scientists Warn

Sea ice in the Arctic region could completely disappear by 2035, a new study reveals. The authors of the study came to this conclusion after studying data from past climate models.

A team of scientists carried out the study using the data collected by the U.K. Met Office’s Hadley Center. Their findings were presented in a new paper published in the journal Nature.

For the study, the scientists analyzed past data on Earth’s last interglacial, which is the warm period that happened around 116,000 to 130,000 years ago. They discovered that intense sunlight during the spring season led to the formation of melt ponds, or shallow pools of water, on the Arctic sea ice.

Climate scientists often use melt ponds as an indicator of how much sunlight is absorbed by the ice and reflected back into space.

Through a climate model of the last interglacial, the scientists were able to simulate the future of the Arctic sea ice. The findings showed that the level of sunlight being absorbed by the ice is increasing, which could lead to larger melt ponds in the future.

As indicated in the simulation, the melt ponds would eventually lead to the complete disappearance of the Arctic sea ice. The scientists predicted that this may happen by 2035.

The complete loss of Arctic sea ice will have various effects on Earth, such as rising sea levels. And since sea ice plays a major role in regulating global temperatures by reflecting sunlight back into space, its disappearance will lead to hotter climates.

The authors of the study said that reducing the world’s carbon emissions is the first step in preventing the complete disappearance of Arctic sea ice.

“We know the Arctic is undergoing significant changes as our planet warms,” Louise Sime, a paleoclimate modeler at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and co-author of the study, said in a statement. “By understanding what happened during Earth's last warm period we are in a better position to understand what will happen in the future. The prospect of loss of sea-ice by 2035 should really be focusing all our minds on achieving a low-carbon world as soon as humanly feasible.”