2012’s record-setting weather has included extreme highs and extreme dries, but none has the enormous proportions of the amount of ice that’s melted in the Arctic.
The melt has likely hit its nadir, as winter comes along and ice will start to accumulate above the Arctic Circle. But 2012 has set a record for the least amount of ice ever recorded at the North Pole. Only 3.66 million sq. km of ice remains at the Arctic, shattering 2007’s mark of 4.25 million.
In 2012 alone, enough ice melted — over 10 million sq. km — to cover Canada, Texas and Virginia, and almost enough to cover Canada and Alaska.
See the story at Grist.
