Antarctica records the lowest extent of ice in 45 years

Baghdad-INA

The Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute announced that the ice area of ​​Antarctica during the calendar winter amounted to 1/8 square km.

The institute’s media office noted, “This is the lowest area of ​​Antarctica’s ice recorded during the past 45 years,” stressing that “last February, the ice area increased by 2 million square kilometers.”

According to the researchers, during the March months of the 1980s, the area of ​​Antarctica's ice was decreasing by 3 million square kilometers, but in the last three years weather conditions in most areas of Antarctica have been warmer than usual, which along with strong winds contributed in the emergence of large areas free of ice.

The scientists pointed out that “there are several reasons for the appearance of low indicators in the Southern Ocean region, the most important of which is the Antarctic Current with climate change, as the western winds intensify the circular return currents, which in turn leads to the arrival of warm water to the ice.” in addition to the deterioration of the ice mass in the Pacific sector, where the volcanic belt extends along the western coast of the continent. 

The Southern Ocean ice cover fell in September last year to its lowest level in the past 45 years. It is worth noting that the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute is considered the world's leading scientific center in studying the Earth's polar regions, and it is the only organization in the world that regularly maps the ice of the Southern Ocean.