The current climate of the planet is going crazy. And it is that this summer is producing heat waves and high temperatures around the world. The explanation and the origin of all this are based on the global warming produced by the human being. Nothing more and nothing less has been recorded in Antarctica last year recorded a record of 18.3C. The temperature was recorded for February 6, 2020, according to the UN World Meteorological Organization.
Therefore, we are going to dedicate this article to tell you what are the reasons why the temperature of Antarctica is reaching historical levels.
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Antarctic temperature record
Keep in mind that during the month of February in the southern hemisphere it is summer. For this reason, the highest temperatures of the whole year are registered during this time, which has been here the coldest month of the year. There is a worldwide problem beyond the viral pandemic produced by Covid-19, which is global warming. There is no vaccine for this type of pandemic.
Practically the human being has already initiated a mechanism of global change without return. It had already been warned that when global average temperatures will reach abnormal maximums, there will be no return for the negative effects of climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions by humans have only increased in recent years despite the efforts and protocols activated by the Paris Agreement.
Checking the Antarctic temperature record helps us build a picture of the weather and climate on one of the last frontiers of our planet. To find out why Antarctica is one of the fastest-warming regions of the planet, we must go to the conveyor belt.
Conveyor belt and features
There is a very slow thermohaline circulation, which is not driven by the wind, but by the distribution of heat and precipitation in the ocean. This type of cycle is called a conveyor belt. Basically it is a water jet in which a large amount of hot water circulates towards the North Pole, which as the temperature drops it becomes more salty and dense. This increase in density causes the body of water to sink and recirculate to lower latitudes. When they reach the Pacific Ocean, they heat up again and their density decreases, and they return to the surface.
Well, in the area where the bodies of water sink due to becoming cold and dense, no ice has been seen since 1998. This causes the conveyor belt to stop working, causing the water to cool less. The advantage that this can provide is that, by the end of the century, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland and the coasts of France and Norway (in addition to north-west Spain) They will only rise 2 ° C, compared to a terrible 4 ° C for most of continental Europe. This is good news for northwestern Europe, but not for tropical America, because the loss of the current will increase the temperature of the Atlantic waters in that area and, as a consequence, the intensity of the hurricanes.
Antarctic temperature too high
We must bear in mind that Antarctica is a totally frozen continent. It is one of the cooling engines of the entire planet. With rising temperatures, an imminent melting of the polar ice caps and rising sea levels are expected. In keeping with climate change, it is the area of the entire planet that is warming the fastest. In mid-April, a report from the World Meteorological Organization was made and indicated that 2020 was the third hottest year in history since there are records, behind 2016 and 2019. The average temperature in these years is 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial revolution levels.
In addition, in this last decade all previous temperature records were surpassed. According to this body and the scientists who carry it out, the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have continued to rise in recent years. If these heat-retaining greenhouse gases continue to rise, the temperature will continue to rise.
Another consequence of rising temperatures in Antarctica is sea level. It is a process that has accelerated even in recent months. In the wake of further melting of the Greenland and Antarctic glaciers, sea levels have risen. At the same time, ecosystems and marine fauna continue to suffer the serious negative consequences of the acidification and deoxygenation of ocean water.
Meanwhile, a study published in May in the journal Nature Geoscience warned that melting ice in Antarctica threatens a chain reaction in weather patterns.
Consequences
In the Arctic, the situation is quite the opposite. Most of it is ocean, while Antarctica is surrounded by land. This makes the behavior in front of the weather different. Though the floating sea ice has melted, it has little effect on sea level rise. This is not the case for mountain glaciers or Antarctic glaciers.
The latest data on the melting of the poles shows that there is one of the largest glaciers in Antarctica, called the Totten Glacier, which is melting due to rising ocean temperatures. It has lost a lot of ice and the rise in sea level will become more noticeable. NASA announced that it appears that we have reached the point where polar collapse is irreversible.
For many mechanisms that we activate and for many measures against climate change that we do, it is almost impossible to stop the melting of the polar ice caps.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the Antarctic temperature record and its characteristics.
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