Shrinking Arctic sea ice during summers enhances the flow of warm, moist air over Greenland, increasing the extreme heat events and surface ice melting, a new study has found.
The dramatic trends of vanishing Arctic sea ice, dogged weather systems over Greenland, far-flung surface ice melting on the massive island, and global sea-level rise are linked, according to researchers, including Jennifer Francis from Rutgers University in US. During summers, melting Arctic sea ice favours stronger and more frequent “blocking-high” pressure systems, which spin clockwise, stay largely in place and can block cold, dry Canadian air from reaching the island.