According to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment, the Arctic has warmed almost four times faster than the rest of the world in the last 40 years.

These conclusions raise fears of an underestimation of the climate models of the poles, whose warming has considerably influenced sea levels.

The study significantly reassesses the rate of warming of the region around the North Pole upwards.

arctic amplification

In 2019, the United Nations climate panel (IPCC) estimated that the Arctic was warming "more than twice the global average", as a result of a process specific to the region.

This phenomenon, called "Arctic amplification", occurs when sea ice and snow, which naturally reflect the sun's heat, melt into seawater which absorbs more solar radiation and heats up.

Although scientists have long agreed on the observation of an accelerated warming of the Arctic, their estimates of the phenomenon differ however according to the period they choose to study or the definition, more or less extensive, of the geographical area. of the arctic.

In the new study, the researchers, based in Norway and Finland, analyzed four sets of temperature data collected across the entire Arctic Circle by satellites since 1979 – the year satellite data first became available.

They concluded that the Arctic has warmed an average of 0.75°C per decade, almost four times faster than the rest of the planet.

Due to greenhouse gases generated by human activities, mainly by fossil fuels, the planet has already gained nearly 1.2°C since the pre-industrial era.

"The scientific literature considers that the Arctic is warming about twice as fast as the rest of the planet, so I was surprised that our conclusion was much higher than the usual figure", explains Antti Lipponen, member of the Finnish Institute of Meteorology and co-author of the study.

However, the study found large local variations in the rate of warming within the Arctic Circle.

For example, the Eurasian sector of the Arctic Ocean, near the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard and the Russian sector of Novaya Zemlya, has warmed by 1.25°C per decade – about seven times faster than the rest of the world.

The obsolescence of previous models

The team found that the most advanced climate models predicted Arctic warming about a third less than their own data show.

This discrepancy could be explained, according to them, by the obsolescence of previous models of the Arctic climate, which are constantly being improved.

“The next step might be to take a look at these models, see why they don't predict what we see in observations and what impact that has on future climate projections,” Antti Lipponen said.

The intense warming of the Arctic, in addition to a serious impact on the inhabitants and on the local fauna, which depends on the continuity of the sea ice to hunt, will also have global repercussions.

"Climate change is man-made and as the Arctic warms, its glaciers will melt, which will affect global sea levels," said Antti Lipponen.

“Something is happening in the Arctic and it will affect us all,” he worries.

The melting of the ice cap is the main driver of sea level rise, ahead of the melting of glaciers and the expansion of the ocean due to the warming of the water.

The melting of sea ice (ice on the oceans) does not raise sea level.

According to the IPCC, the sea level has risen by 20 cm since 1900. However, the rate of this rise has almost tripled since 1990 and, depending on the scenarios, the oceans could still gain 40 to 85 cm by the end of the century. .

The Greenland Ice Sheet, which recent studies may be approaching the "tipping point" of melting, contains an amount of icy water capable of raising the level of Earth's oceans by up to six metres.

With AFP

The summary of the

France 24 week invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you!

Download the France 24 app

google-play-badge_EN