In the Arctic, with every increasing degree, the ice melts and precipitation increases by 2 per cent. It is expected that the Arctic will increase the overall precipitation drastically and no snow will form anymore by 2091.
Richard Bintanja works as a climate researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, and he used 37 climate models to predict the precipitation levels in the Arctic for 100 years. He stated:
“It’s quite a bit, a 50 to 60 per cent increase Arctic-wide. We found that most of this increase is due to the retreat of sea ice because of the Arctic warming,”
In the previous years, ice in the Arctic started to melt and release huge amounts of water to the sea. As this happens, evaporation increases, and thus, formation of clouds and precipitation increase. As precipitation increases, there will rain instead of snow because warmer temperatures will block snowing. Regarding this, Bintanja says:
“If the current trend proceeds – and all indications are that it will go even faster than predicted – then we’ll have a sea-ice-free Arctic. You will be able to go to the North Pole just by ship.”
When rain pours, it will melt more ice and the ability of ice to reflect light will decrease. Thus, even more ice will melt, and marine life will be harmed as the salinity of the Arctic ocean changes. Ding says:
“Eighty years from now, we don’t know how much CO2 there will be, but I’m sure it will be very warm in the Arctic. And anthropogenic causes will overwhelm anything else.”
Yet, Ding also suggests that these rainfalls won’t be year-round. He says that it can rain like London for a week; then, in the future, it might rain like London for a month.
[via newscientist]
