Geneva, September 30 (IPS). – Ice on the polar ice caps reduces and increases the threat to the lives of species such as the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), which will be almost extinct at the current rate of global warming, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned in its latest report.
The prediction is based on 2022 analysis of satellite images of the central and eastern Bellingshausen Sea west of the Antarctic Peninsula, which showed there was no ice in breeding areas long before the chicks had developed feathers
According to the British Antarctic Survey, this would have resulted in the death of all chicks in four of the five known emperor penguin colonies.
Their findings support predictions that more than 90% of emperor penguin colonies will be nearly extinct by the end of the century, based on current global warming trends.
Omar Baddour, head of climate monitoring at the WMO, said of the report: “The decline in Antarctic sea ice this year has been truly spectacular.”
“What happens in Antarctica and the Arctic affects the entire planet,” and the WMO testifies that “concern is growing about rapid changes in the cryosphere (the Earth’s surface where water is in a solid state): that melting sea ice, the ice sheets, etc. Glaciers,” Baddour added.
The extent of Antarctic ice in the southern winter of 2023 is at its lowest level since satellite records began and far exceeds the previous minimum in this remote part of the planet, which covers an area of around 14 million square kilometers, the South Pole.
In addition, the average monthly sea ice extent in January, February, May, June, July and August 2023 was the lowest since 1945.
According to preliminary data from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center, the maximum extent remained below 17 million square kilometers for the first time since 1979.
This is one million square kilometers below the previous record low in 2022, an area larger than the area of Egypt.
This lack of ice is associated with unusually warm sea surface temperatures throughout the Southern Ocean, as well as warmer atmospheric surface temperatures across much of East Antarctica.
According to the Danish Meteorological Institute, which works with the WMO, “this is an exceptional extreme event”.
WMO Global Cryosphere Monitoring scientists are investigating whether this is part of normal variability around the windswept frozen continent or whether it is the start of a worrying new condition caused by excess greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and ocean.
The report reminds that the vast area of glacial ice in Antarctica and the surrounding sea ice cover are crucial in regulating the climate as they reflect solar energy into the atmosphere and space.
Instead, the dark surface of the ocean absorbs most of the sun’s energy. Less sea ice therefore contributes to rising temperatures and fuels a vicious circle.
“The sea ice deficit in Antarctica in 2023 will have a direct impact on the climate and ecosystems both near and far, even at lower latitudes where the majority of the human population lives,” emphasized Petra Heil, expert at the WMO Cryosphere Monitoring .