[1]London: New photographs released by scientists have shown the ice cap at the North Pole melting away - and turning into a vast lake, sparking fears about climate change.
The images taken in April show a buoy used to measure climate change sitting on top of the Arctic ice but in the next image taken July 13 the buoy is seen floating in a huge pool of water while the permafrost has disappeared, the Sun reported.
It is believed that the lake is going to grow larger when predicted Arctic storms hit in the coming weeks, loosening the ice banks even further.
The melting of ice took place because of summer temperatures soaring to 3 degree Celsius, which is way above the normal average of 0 degree Celsius.
Scientists have warned that the melting of the permafrost is going to speed up global warming; they believe that a total loss of ice in the summer months will be costing 39 trillion pounds.
According to experts, the melting of ice caps is going to see huge amounts of methane gas being released into the atmosphere, which will help speed up climate change which will result in more flooding and droughts across the world.
They said that the climate change is also posing a huge threat to the wildlife that relies on the pack ice to survive.
The study has been published in the journal Nature.
Links:
[1] http://103.241.136.51/northpolejpg-650