ANTARCTICA is also losing ice volume at an unprecedented rate. Different from the Arctic, most of the ice of Antarctica is on land so when it melts, it contributes directly to sea level rise. There is also a lot more ice in Antarctica than the Arctic. In fact, if the entire Antarctic ice sheet melted, the sea level would rise 187 feet! The image below compares the amount of land ice compared to 2002.

While long-term trends over the last three decades show sea ice in Antarctica increasing, most of its ice is on land (not in the sea) and that shows a consistent trend of decline. Additionally, more recent research shows a precipitous decline of sea ice since 2015 in most Antarctic seas [also see here]). See some of the most dramatic events of ice sheet disintegration and hear from the scientists in the video immediately below and the film Chasing Ice (next page).

Antarctica recently broke heat records, reaching nearly 65° F! Click on the image below for a story from the New York Times referencing the Argentina’s National Meteorological station has been recording temperatures there for 60 years.

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