A statement from the Russian environmental monitoring agency on Thursday says that the melting in the polar ice cap is nearing the 2007 record minimum levels, and in some instances is 50% smaller than the average.
“According to the results of observations, the Arctic ice sheet is currently near the minimum that was observed in 2007 in the polar region,” the Roshydromet agency said in a statement.
The statement detailed that the ice sheet currently covered only 6.8 billion square kilometres (2.6 billion square miles). It added that “the ice cap is smaller than the norm in all the Russian seas: by 56 percent in the southwest of the Kara Sea, by 20 percent in the northeast of the Kara Sea, by 40 percent in the Laptev Sea, by 14 percent in the East Siberia Sea and by 35 percent in Sea of Chukotka.”
Source: Roshydromet agency
Image Source: NOAA Photo Library
