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21-07-31 06 Huge Greenland Melt

Insider, July 30, 2021

Enough ice melted in Greenland over the last 2 days it could

cover the entire surface area of Florida in 4 inches of water

By Vanessa Gu

 

Greenland lost more than 16 billion tons of ice in two days -- enough to cover Florida in 4 inches of water. In 2019, Greenland lost more than 530 billion tons of ice, a record high since records started in 1948. While the melt volume is not as much, the area affected is expanding, said the World Meteorological Organization. Enough ice melted in Greenland over the past two days that the runoff could cover an area the size of Florida in four inches of water, according to Polar Portal, a Danish website that monitors the Greenland ice sheet.

 

Greenland is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere and has a population of around 50,000. It lost more than 8.5 billion tons of surface mass on Wednesday, according to data from the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI). The shedding continued into Thursday, where it lost an additional 8.4 billion tons of surface area.

—Polar Portal (@PolarPortal) July 29, 2021

 

Greenland saw its worst melting in 2019, when it lost more than 530 billion tons of ice during the season, reported the BBC. In a one-day record, on July 30, 2019, it lost more than 11 billion tons of ice in a day, reported CNN. While it's unlikely the ice sheets will see as much melting in 2021, the World Meteorological Organization said in a tweet the melting area is larger than two years ago.

A recent report of 14,000 scientists warning of a climate emergency said Greenland and Antarctica are showing record low levels of ice, and are melting around 30% faster than 15 years ago. Meanwhile, Greenland's melting ice is expected to contribute around 23 feet to rising sea levels eventually, reported the Guardian.

 

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Uploaded on July 31, 2021