The Arctic is Melting!

By Gemma Tabet

Written: November 20, 2020

Theme of Issue: SDG 14, Life Below Water. Here is the official UN link where you can learn more about this particular Sustainable Development Goal: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal14

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Photo Credit: Willian Justen de Vasconcellos via Unsplash

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As you probably already know, global warming is causing ice around the world to melt. Now, I hope you know what global warming is (considering all the news about it), but here is a little refresher and explanation for those who aren’t sure or don’t remember what it is.

Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants (like methane) collect in the atmosphere and act as a sort of blanket that surrounds Earth. They absorb the sunlight and radiation that have bounced off the Earth’s surface, and instead of the radiation escaping into space, the pollutants trap the heat, making the planet warmer and warmer. This is known as the greenhouse effect. This heat remains in the planet’s atmosphere, and causes temperatures to rise, and in turn melts glaciers, causes severe droughts, heat waves, the rising of sea levels and heavy downpours, increases flooding, disrupts habitats, and allergies, asthma and infectious diseases will become more common due to the increased growth of ragweed (which produces pollen), higher levels of air pollution and the spread of conditions favorable for mosquitoes and pathogens.

Yes, pretty grim. But it’s the truth. Global warming, caused by reckless human activities, is resulting in mass problems that will affect everyone, everywhere. One of said problems is, yup you guessed it, the melting of the Arctic and Antarctica. Ever since the industrial revolution, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions have raised temperatures and caused ice and glaciers to melt. So, why is this important?

Ice acts like a protective cover around Earth and its oceans. The bright white spots reflect the heat and sunlight back into space, acting as a planet cooler. However, with the greenhouse effect, the sunlight doesn’t go back into space and instead bounces back onto the ice, causing it to melt. The rising temperatures around the world also cause the ice to melt and, in fact, already 95% of the Arctic's oldest and thickest ice is gone. If we keep going at this rate, scientists predict that by 2035 the Arctic could be ice free in the summer.

For wildlife this means they will lose their habitats, and even now feel the effects of global warming. Walruses, polar bears and fish continue to face challenges as their home melts around them, and soon the Arctic as we know it, a desert like sheet of ice where reindeer roam and polar bears hunt with waters filled with seals and fish will soon be gone, only a memory etched in our minds forever.

In the last 20 years reindeer and caribou populations have declined by 56%, marking them as an endangered species, as their food sources have burned in wildfires caused by the increase of heat in Sweden, Alaska, Canada and Russia. Scientists predict that polar bears, who rely on the Arctic ice for hunting and as living space, could go extinct by 2100 and the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group predict that there are less that 26,000 polar bears left in the world today. Forced by the loss of sea ice on which to rest and feed, thousands of walruses end up in Alaska, at risk from overcrowding, stampedes and desperate polar bears. Their population is in decline, with only 129,000 animals left.

The Arctic melting is causing mass extinctions and deaths of thousands of ice-dependent species. Even if we stop carbon emissions by tomorrow, the Arctic sea ice will keep on melting for decades. But it’s still possible to make the changes necessary to slow down and eventually reverse warming in the Arctic. We need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to below 350 parts per million (for every million air particles, there should be less than 350 C02 particles) and we need to reduce short-lived greenhouse pollutants like methane and black carbon. We should help the Arctic wildlife survive unavoidable climate changes with protected parks, rescue foundations and by funding research that will help us better understand how the Arctic will look in the future to prepare ourselves for likely scenarios. We need to pressure governments to take political action at all levels. Yes, try driving less in your car and eating less beef will help. But it’s not enough to stop a crisis. We need governments and nations to treat this as an emergency, because it is. Let's follow SDG 14 and SDG 13, Climate Action, to start ensuring a better future for all.