For the first time, rain was recorded on top of the giant ice cover of Greenland. This has not happened in the entire history of observations, namely – since 1950, The Guardian states. This was so unexpected that the researchers did not even have the measuring equipment.
On a mountain with a height of 3 thousand 216 m, the temperature is usually below zero. Precipitation is considered a clear sign of a climate crisis, according to the media.
Scientists at the US National Science Foundation’s summit station saw rain falling throughout 14 August but had no gauges to measure the fall because the precipitation was so unexpected. Across Greenland, an estimated 7bn tonnes of water was released from the clouds. This was so unexpected that they didn’t even have the necessary data collection equipment.
In just three of the hottest days in Greenland, about 7 tons of water fell.
Scientists warn that due to global warming, the ice of Greenland is melting. According to researchers, the process is now approaching a critical point. After its passage, melting will not stop even at a stable temperature.
Trillions of tons of ice lost in Greenland since 1994 are raising sea levels, threatening coastal cities. If all the ice on the island melted, the water in the seas would rise by 6 m.
So far, the level has risen by only 20 cm, but experts believe that by the end of the century the range will be another 28-100 cm, and maybe all 200 cm.
The cause of the July and August melting was the same – warm air being pushed up over Greenland and held there. These “blocking” events are not uncommon but seem to be becoming more severe, according to scientists.
Global sea level would rise by about 6 metres if all of Greenland’s ice melted, although this would take centuries or millennia to occur. But the trillions of tonnes lost from Greenland since 1994 is pushing up sea levels and endangering the world’s coastal cities.
Sea level has already risen by 20cm, and the IPCC said the likely range by the end of the century was a further 28-100cm, though it could be 200cm.
Greenland’s ice is melting faster than any time in the past 12,000 years, scientists have estimated, with the ice loss running at a rate of about 1m tonnes a minute in 2019.You can get to know about NASA’s map of fires on Earth here.
