Greenland’s ice sheet melting much faster than thought
Development threatens hundreds of millions of people with inundation

Greenland’s ice sheet is melting much faster than previously thought, with potentially catastrophic consequences.
New data suggests that ice is being lost from Greenland seven times faster than it was in the 1990s, and the scale and speed of ice loss is much higher than previously predicted.
The Guardian says the development threatens hundreds of millions of people with inundation and “brings some of the irreversible impacts of the climate emergency much closer”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sea level rises are likely to reach 67cm by 2100, about 7cm more than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has previously thought.
Some 400 million people will be put at risk of flooding every year, instead of the 360 million previously predicted, says the report.
The authors of the study have expressed alarm at the findings. Andrew Shepherd, professor of Earth observation at the University of Leeds, said these “are not unlikely events” and “will be devastating for coastal communities”.
The BBC explains that in an average year now, Greenland sheds about 250 billion tonnes of ice. However, this year was significantly warmer, so “the ice loss this year was more like 370 billion tonnes," said Dr Ruth Mottram, who is affiliated to the Danish Meteorological Institute.
Louise Sime, a climate scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, said: “This finding should be of huge concern for all those who will be affected by sea level rise.”
The Daily Mail says that sea level rise threatens cities “from Shanghai to London, to low-lying swathes of Florida or Bangladesh, and to entire nations such as the Maldives”.
Rachel Kennerley, of Friends of the Earth, said: “This latest research is yet more in an ever-growing pile of evidence which shows we need real action, not warm words.”
The latest data, collated by a group of 96 polar scientists from around the world, was published in Nature magazine.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The worst coral bleaching event breaks records
The Explainer Bleaching has now affected 84% of the world's coral reefs
-
Why UK scientists are trying to dim the Sun
In The Spotlight The UK has funded controversial geoengineering techniques that could prove helpful in slowing climate change
-
Electric ferries are becoming the next big environmental trend
Under the Radar From Hong Kong to Lake Tahoe, electric ferries are the new wave
-
Ukraine is experiencing an 'ecocide' and wants Russia to pay
Under the radar The environment is a silent victim of war
-
How wild horses are preventing wildfires in Spain
Under The Radar The animals roam more than 5,700 hectares of public forest, reducing the volume of combustible vegetation in the landscape
-
Scientists invent a solid carbon-negative building material
Under the radar Building CO2 into the buildings
-
Dozens of deep-sea creatures discovered after iceberg broke off Antarctica
Under the radar The cold never bothered them anyway
-
Earth's climate is in the era of 'global weirding'
The Explainer Weather is harder to predict and more extreme