Scientists from the Danish Meteorological Institute reported that 8.5 billion tons of ice melted in just one day due to anomalous heat on the Greenland ice sheet in just one day.
According to the researchers, the formed water is enough to cover the entire territory of Florida with a 5-centimeter layer, writes Polar Portal.
This large-scale melting of ice exceeds the average ice loss in Greenland.
According to observations from satellites, every year about 250 billion tons of Greenland ice turns into water, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
According to the researchers, this is not the first large-scale one-day ice melting in Greenland.
So, in 2012, in one summer day, ice loss amounted to 12.5 billion tons of ice, and in 2019 - 11 billion tons.
“The large-scale case of ice melting in Greenland is not as extreme as it was in 2019.
The melting area is even slightly larger than two years ago, ”the researchers said on their Twitter page.
According to scientists, the main reason for the melting of ice in Greenland is abnormal heat.
Climatologists point out that the temperature in Greenland now exceeds 20 degrees Celsius, which is twice the average summer for the region.
Heat can be caused by the large accumulation of warm air over Greenland.
Xavier Fettweiss, a Belgian climatologist at the University of Liege, said Greenland has lost 22 billion tonnes of ice in the days since July 28.
After the ice melted, 12 billion tons of water flowed into the ocean, and the remaining 10 billion tons turned into ice again due to a sharp snowfall.
“10 billion tons were offset by the formation of snow cover due to recent heavy snowfall,” the scientist said on his Twitter page.
Researchers are concerned that if warm air lingers over Greenland, it could further accelerate the melting of glaciers.
According to the US National Snow and Ice Data Center, if all the ice in Greenland melts, the sea level will rise by about 6 meters, which could lead to serious climate changes on the planet.