This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing.
According to a recent study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Antarctic glaciers have been melting at an accelerating pace, almost sixfold, over the past four decades due to warmer ocean water. The researchers predict even faster sea level rise in coming decades.
The Antarctic lost 40 billion tons of melting ice from 1979 to 1989. That figure jumped to 252 billion tons lost per year beginning 2009. The bottom line is that Antarctica is losing a lot of ice and there are many vulnerable areas across the East and West Antarctic, with few signs of slowing as oceans grow warmer.
The findings are the latest sign that the world could face catastrophic consequences if climate change continues. Scientists have already predicted that seas could rise nearly three feet globally by 2100 if the world does not decrease burning fossil fuels.
Stay tuned next time to find out how climate change could affect your retirement funds.
