CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -According to preliminary data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Antarctica has set an alarming new record this year for the lowest sea ice extent in the past four decades since measurements began.

Detailed explanation-2: -Polar ice caps are melting as global warming causes climate change. We lose Arctic sea ice at a rate of almost 13% per decade, and over the past 30 years, the oldest and thickest ice in the Arctic has declined by a stunning 95%.

Detailed explanation-3: -Key Takeaway: Antarctica is losing ice mass (melting) at an average rate of about 150 billion tons per year, and Greenland is losing about 270 billion tons per year, adding to sea level rise.

Detailed explanation-4: -In 40 years the Arctic Ocean has lost about 3/4 of its sea ice volume at the end of the summer season corresponding to a reduction of both sea ice extent and sea ice thickness by half on average.

Detailed explanation-5: -Arctic sea ice reaches its minimum extent (the area in which satellite sensors show individual pixels to be at least 15% covered in ice) each September. September Arctic sea ice is now shrinking at a rate of 12.6% per decade, compared to its average extent during the period of 1981 to 2010.