The frozen Arctic has shrunk to its second lowest level since satellites began measuring it in 1979, capping a decade of ‘rapidly decreasing summer sea ice,’ United States scientists said on Friday.
The Colorado-based National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said the ice cap appeared to have reached its lowest level for the summer, at 4.33 million sq km (1.67 million square miles) on Sept 9.
That is the second lowest level since the centre began tracking the ice mass by satellite more than 30 years ago, with the lowest level recorded in 2007.
The NSIDC cautioned that the measurement was based on preliminary results and that changing winds could push the ice flows closer together, resulting in a smaller figure when final numbers are released in early October. ‘The last five years (2007 to 2011) have been the five lowest extents in the continuous satellite record, which extends back to 1979,’ the NSIDC said.
PHOTO: REUTERS