By: Natalya Kovalenko, The Arctic ice is melting at an amazing speed. The area of the ice cover in the Arctic Region has reduced nearly 2 times since the 70s of the last century. Both the area and the thickness of the Arctic ice are measured in September because September is the peak season for melting. However, if earlier the ice cover restored its former form during winter, recent years have offered proof that it is becoming thinner and thinner with every passing year. All this is happening at a brisk pace that none of the climatic models can predict, the coordinator of the Climate and Energy of the World Wildlife Fund Alexei Kokorin says: "Most likely, this tendency will continue. This means that, approximately, every 5 years we’ll have a record minimum of ice melting. It would have been thoughtless to say that in the coming 20 years the Arctic will do away with the ice. However, the fact that it may happen, that there will be no ice in the Siberian seas along the North Sea Route is highly probable." And still, one should not rejoice that soon the North Sea Route will be free for shipping all year round and that the extraction of oil and gas on the shelf will be simple and cheap. Winter with its frosts will show its worth all the same, and new problems may appear where nobody is waiting for them, an expert with the Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Nikita Ovsyannikov, says. For example, this year the ice did not melt completely near Wrangel Island and remained in the Chukchi Sea and East Siberian Sea. The reduction of ice is a big problem for the animals living in the Arctic because the eco-system of the Arctic Region is violated as a result. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Arctic ice is melting, mainly, from the increase in greenhouse gases, carbon monoxide in the first place. Opinions are split among the scientists over the degree of influence of emissions into the atmosphere on the Earth’s climate. And nobody can give the exact reasons for ice melting at the moment. Source: Voice of Russia
