According to a report by Russian news agency Sputnik on May 5, a new report from the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) working group of the Arctic Council states that the Arctic is rapidly melting and may be completely ice-free by 2040. Meanwhile, a study from the University of Leeds in the UK found that in Antarctica, the rate of ice melting is about one-third of what was expected.
Why is the Arctic ice melting so quickly, while the Antarctic ice is melting so slowly? Reports say the reasons for this issue are quite complex. On the surface, the Arctic and Antarctic share many similarities: both are frigid, sparsely populated, snow-covered wastelands located at the poles of Earth. However, they also have fundamental differences: the Arctic is an ocean surrounded by land (such as the northern regions of Alaska, Canada, and Russia), while Antarctica is a landmass surrounded by ocean. It is believed that the Arctic essentially consists of huge ice blocks in the Arctic Ocean, while Antarctica is land covered by ice and snow.
The report states that “essentially, within the scope of Antarctica, the two major effects caused by global warming can effectively offset each other. The melting of sea ice in both poles is accelerating (the amount of sea ice in both reached a historic low in February), but the snowfall in Antarctica has formed ice sheets in some areas.”
Climatologists point out that the increase in snowfall is another side effect of climate warming. One consequence of global warming is the increase in ocean evaporation, as the heat from the ocean sends water vapor into the atmosphere. As the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere increases, the amount of rain and snowfall will also increase accordingly.
In the past, snowfall in Antarctica was very rare, but global warming has led to more frequent snowfall over a larger area in Antarctica. In contrast, since the early 21st century, the amount of ice in the Arctic region has been steadily declining.
In simple terms, because the Arctic region has very cold air, only a small amount of water vapor can enter the atmosphere. This means that there is little material available for snowfall in the Arctic region, resulting in scarce snowfall.
The Antarctic region has its own winds and ocean currents, thus isolating it from the trend of global warming, while the winds and oceans of the Atlantic have a significant impact on the Arctic Ocean.
