The U.N. panel of 2,500 scientists said in February that summer sea ice could almost vanish in the Arctic towards the end of this century. It said warming in the past 50 years was “very likely” the result of greenhouse gases caused by fossil fuel use.
“There may well be an ice-free Arctic by the middle of the century,” Christopher Rapley, director of the British Antarctic Survey, told the seminar, accusing the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of underestimating the melt.
The thaw of glaciers that stretch out to sea around Svalbard has revealed several islands that are not on any maps.
“Islands are appearing just over the fjord here” as glaciers recede, said Kim Holmen, research Director at the Norwegian Polar Institute, gesturing out across the bay. “We’re already seeing adverse effects on polar bears and other species.”
