Dramatic Arctic sea ice shrinkage predicted

Maximum area within 30 years expected to be third of last year’s low level

WASHINGTON – The areas of the Arctic covered in sea ice in summers will shrink by two-thirds within 30 years, researchers report, attributing the shrinkage to natural conditions as well as manmade greenhouse gases.

They expect the area covered by summer sea ice to decline from about 2.8 million square miles normally to 620,000 square miles

Last year’s summer minimum was 1.8 million square miles in September, second lowest only to 2007 which had a minimum of 1.65 million square miles, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

The center has also said that Arctic sea ice reached its winter maximum for this year at 5.8 million square miles on Feb. 28. That was 278,000 square miles below the 1979-2000 average making it the fifth lowest on record. The six lowest maximums since 1979 have all occurred in the last six years.

MSNBC