The Arctic sea ice is gone

Yes, the Arctic sea ice melted in 2021. According to sea ice scientist Claire Buffett of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, on September 15, 2020, the Arctic sea ice reached the second lowest range since satellite records began in 1979, at only 3.74 million square kilometers. In addition, other literature also mentioned the melting of the Arctic sea ice, such as the occurrence of extreme warming events in the Arctic and the melting of the Greenland ice sheet. Therefore, it could be concluded that the Arctic sea ice melted in 2021.

The Arctic sea ice has a strong resilience. If the atmosphere cooled down, the sea ice could recover quickly. However, due to global warming, the Arctic sea ice was receding at a rate not seen in the past thousand years. It is expected that by the middle of the 21st century or earlier, the Arctic waters will face a situation where there will be no ice in summer. The researchers called for the reduction of carbon dioxide to avoid long-term ice-free conditions. Although the Arctic sea ice is resilient, factors such as frequent atmospheric rivers and global warming may slow the seasonal recovery of the Arctic sea ice. Therefore, although the Arctic sea ice has the potential to recover, it faces serious challenges.

The reason for the decrease in Arctic sea ice is caused by global warming. Global warming has reduced the Arctic sea ice area and accelerated the process of sea ice disappearance. The loss of sea ice further increases the rate of global warming because the Earth absorbs more heat. In addition, the natural changes in the Arctic climate were also one of the reasons for the decrease in Arctic sea ice. According to scientists, natural changes could explain half of the decline in Arctic sea ice. However, greenhouse gases are the main reason for the disappearance of sea ice because they increase the amount of sunlight absorbed by the ocean, accelerating the melting of ice and snow and warming the Arctic. Therefore, global warming and human factors were the main reasons for the reduction of Arctic sea ice.

The reduction of Arctic sea ice will have many impacts on the climate and the environment. First of all, the reduction of Arctic sea ice would lead to the opening of the Arctic sea route, which would facilitate the development and utilization of the Arctic sea route. However, the retreat of sea ice would also increase the temperature in the Arctic region, reducing surface reflection and further increasing the climate warming in the Arctic region. The melting of sea ice would also cause sea levels to rise, affecting the economy, natural environment, and ecosystem of coastal cities and islands. In addition, the reduction of Arctic sea ice would also have an impact on the climate. Research shows that the reduction of Arctic sea ice is closely related to the extreme cold weather in Europe, Asia and North America. The reduction of sea ice would lead to an increase in blockage in the middle and high latitudes, which would increase the frequency of cold air invasion from the Arctic to these areas, which could lead to frequent cold weather and abnormal snowfall in these areas in winter. In addition, the reduction of Arctic sea ice could also increase the transport of airborne and other pollution to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, affecting the environmental quality of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In short, the reduction of Arctic sea ice would have an impact on global climate change, Arctic sea routes, sea level rise, and the weather and environment in the middle and high latitudes.

Changes in the Arctic sea ice have an important impact on climate and weather. According to the research results, the reduction of Arctic sea ice would lead to an increase in heat exchange in local areas, affecting the atmospheric circulation and temperature in the middle and high latitudes of the northern hemisphere. The melting of the Arctic sea ice could also lead to an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events in the middle and high latitudes, especially in winter. In addition, the reduction of Arctic sea ice would also affect the atmospheric circulation, leading to an increase in smog in winter and spring. Changes in the Arctic sea ice would also have an impact on tourism, which could lead to changes in the ecological environment of the Arctic region and affect some tourism activities with the main purpose of watching animals. In general, changes in the Arctic sea ice had an important impact on climate, weather, ecological environment, and tourism.

Some measures to deal with the melting of the Arctic sea ice. First of all, a complete ban on the use of fluorides is a possible solution, as the world is working hard to promote this measure, which is expected to have a 3% reduction in global warming by 2050. Secondly, protecting forests was also an important countermeasure. By stopping forest destruction and implementing large-scale replanting, the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere every year could be reduced, thereby reducing the greenhouse effect. In addition, improving the fuel consumption of vehicles was also an important measure. Japanese cars had made technological progress in this area and greatly improved fuel consumption. However, specific Arctic sea ice management measures may require more research and international cooperation to develop and implement.

The month with the largest Arctic sea ice is March.

The latest Arctic sea ice area data reached its annual maximum on February 25, 2022, with an area of 14.88 million square kilometers. However, the latest news about the Arctic sea ice extent was not mentioned in the search results provided. So I don't know the latest news about the Arctic sea ice extent.

The rate at which the Arctic summer ice melts has been increasing over the past few decades. The report pointed out that the Arctic sea ice area has been decreasing at a rate of 100,000 square kilometers per year for the past 10 years, and the rate of melting of the ice sheet accelerated by 10 times last year. According to a study, by 2035, the Arctic summer sea ice is likely to completely disappear. However, according to another study, even under pessimistic circumstances, the first ice-free summer in the Arctic would not appear until the end of the century. Therefore, although the melting of the Arctic ice in summer was a serious problem, the specific timeline was still uncertain.

The thickness of the Arctic ice was usually about two to four meters. However, there was also some information that mentioned that the thickness of the ice near the North Pole was only about 3 meters. It should be noted that due to the melting of the Arctic ice, these data may not be the latest. In addition, the average thickness of the Antarctic ice was about 1700 meters, and the thickest part could reach 4800 meters, far exceeding the thickness of the Arctic ice.