Study: The global ice sheet will be in danger if the Earth's temperature rises by 2 degrees Celsiu
conducted by the International Cryosphere and Climate Initiative (a non-governmental organization), the results of which were published on Thursday, warned that a potential rise in global temperatures of two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels [that is, before the middle of the eighteenth century] would have catastrophic consequences for the peaks and glaciers. The polar seas and permafrost on Earth.
The study pointed out that recent research has shown that a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions alone is capable of preventing permanent consequences on the global “ice cover,” which represents sections of the Earth covered with ice and snow for at least a period of the year. She said: “Given what we have learned about the ice cover since the signing of the 2015 Paris Agreement, it seems that limiting warming to one and a half degrees Celsius is no better than limiting it to two degrees.”
Therefore, the study called on participants in the upcoming global climate negotiations (which Dubai is hosting from November 30 to December 12) to strive to limit global warming to a level of 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial rates. Knowing that the most prominent goal of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 was to keep global warming below two degrees Celsius.
The possibility of some glaciers disappearing “permanently”
According to the warnings of the authors of the study completed by the International Cryosphere and Climate Initiative, as well as international scientists, the melting of the ice caps will lead, if global temperatures rise by two degrees Celsius, to “a significant and perhaps rapid and permanent rise in ocean levels.” The world will also witness a significant melting of glaciers, with the possibility of some of them “disappearing permanently.”
Sea ice may be the most affected part of the ice sheet, and the Arctic Ocean may become ice-free every summer. Arctic waters will absorb more of the sun's heat during the 24 hours of summer, which will accelerate the melting of the permafrost and Greenland's ice sheet.
Melting permafrost is another major danger because it releases carbon dioxide and methane, emissions that contribute to global warming. The polar seas will also be affected. According to the study, the carbon it absorbs would generate “corrosive ocean acidification conditions throughout the year.” This would endanger all marine life and the various food chains that depend on it.
