admin
A new study has warned that even if global warming is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, large amounts of ice in polar regions will still melt very quickly. This could cause sea levels to rise and force millions of people to leave their homes especially those living in low-lying coastal countries like Bangladesh.
The study was published on Tuesday in the journal Communications Earth & Environment. It was led by Durham University in the UK, with help from experts at the University of Bristol, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The research was funded by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council.
Scientists looked closely at Greenland and Antarctica. These areas have enough ice to raise global sea levels by about 65 meters if they melt completely. Since the 1990s, the speed of ice melting has gone up four times.
Right now, around 370 billion tons of ice are melting every year. Global temperatures are already about 1.2°C higher than they were before the industrial age, according to the latest IPCC report.
“A 1.5°C rise is already too much for the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica,” said Professor Chris Stokes, the lead author of the study. “We’ve known that sea levels will rise over time, but the speed of ice loss now is very concerning.”
The study warns that even with 1.5°C warming, sea levels could rise by several meters. This would be extremely hard and expensive for countries on the coast or small islands to manage. About 230 million people today live just one meter or less above sea level. Many of them are in places that are especially at risk from rising seas.
Professor Andrea Dutton from the University of Wisconsin-Madison said, “In the past, when the Earth was warmer, sea levels rose by several meters. The longer the Earth stays warm, the more ice will melt and the higher the sea will rise.”
Professor Jonathan Bamber, a glaciologist from the University of Bristol, said satellite images show faster ice loss than scientists had predicted. “This is a serious warning for both scientists and policymakers,” he said.
Professor Rob DeConto from the University of Massachusetts Amherst added, “These changes could last for many generations. Even if we cool the planet back to pre-industrial temperatures, it may take hundreds of years for the ice sheets to recover. And if too much ice is lost, some parts may never return—unless we enter another ice age.”
The scientists say world leaders should act quickly and try to limit global warming to 1°C to avoid the worst impacts.
