Arctic sea ice ‘lowest in recorded history’: scientist

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Sea ice in the northern hemisphere has plunged to the lowest levels ever measured, a US Arctic specialist said Friday, adding that it was likely part of the long-term trend of polar ice melt driven by global warming.

University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana Arctic climate expert William Chapman told AFP that Arctic sea ice had plunged to new lows some 30 days before the normal point of the annual minimum.


He also said that with a lower ice cover and fewer clouds this year, the waters of the Arctic are being exposed to more intense sunlight, further warming them.

“As of yesterday and today … we have set a historical low for sea ice in the northern hemisphere,” he said.

AFP