A five-year study into the Arctic and its climate has concluded change in the region is accelerating at an alarming rate, which could even lead to sea-ice-free summers.
The Arctic Resilience Report, a production of the Arctic Council, has found 19 separate areas that it says will be damaged or altered if greater care of the region is not taken.
The authors of the report were also keen to stress the impacts of change in the Arctic would have impacts around the world.
"Arctic social and biophysical systems are deeply intertwined with our planet’s social and biophysical systems, so rapid, dramatic and unexpected changes in this sensitive region are likely to be felt elsewhere," the report says. "As we are often reminded, what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic."
The 19 "regime shifts" outlined in the new report are said to be already happening, or possible to happen in coming years. "From a shift to sea-ice-free summers, to changes affecting the oceans’ thermohaline circulation, to collapse of different Arctic fisheries, to the reorganisation of landscapes," the report says.
Overall, the changes have the potential to cause "substantial impacts" on wildlife in the Arctic and also on the stability of the climate, the report produced with six universities says. Change is primarily being driven by "human activity" with melting ice being one of the primary concerns. The report also says "resource demand, transportation needs, migration, geopolitical changes" are having an impact on the area.
The report comes at a crucial time for those concerned about the impact of climate change on the planet. On November 4, the Paris climate change agreement came into force, with a long-term goal to keel global temperatures down. United States president-elect Donald Trump has also previously stated he would pull the country out of the deal – having now changed his position to having an "open mind" on the 55 country deal.
Trump aides have also said they may scrap Nasa's funding for climate change research.
This year, scientists warned rising CO2 levels are alarming and may not dip for "many generations". Arctic sea ice has also reached "a record low" for the second year running, Nasa climate change experts have said. At the end of 2015 it was reported Arctic temperatures had rose above freezing after El Niño weather events.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
