A new report on global warming predicts the frozen Arctic Ocean will soon be like a normal sea in the summers. There are shocking changes happening in the polar environment and its fragile eco-systems. For millions of years, the sea around the North Pole has been frozen all year round. Recent research from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Catlin Atlantic Survey show things are changing fast. They predict that within a decade, the Arctic will be largely ice-free in the summer. They base their prediction on the rate at which the sea ice is currently thinning. The lead researcher, Professor Peter Wadhams, said: "The area is now more likely to become open water each summer, bringing forward the potential date when the summer sea ice will be completely gone."
據(jù)最新報告預測,北冰洋或?qū)⒃谙募境蔀橐黄粞?。極地環(huán)境和脆弱的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)發(fā)生了巨大變化。數(shù)百萬年以來,北極地區(qū)冰雪四季不化。據(jù)“世界野生動物基金會”和“卡特林大西洋研究中心”近期研究表明,北極地區(qū)瞬息萬變。據(jù)他們預測十年之內(nèi),北冰洋或?qū)⒃谙募境蔀橐黄粞?。該預測是根據(jù)目前冰雪融化速度推算的。研究主任皮特·瓦德漢姆表示:“每年夏天,這片區(qū)域很有可能成為一片大海,夏季冰面也可能完全消失。
An ice-free Arctic will have consequences for the whole world’s weather patterns. The Arctic sea ice is a key part of the Earth’s climate system. Experts call it Earth's “refrigerator”. They said that as it disappears, the world will become a lot warmer. Scientists are still unclear exactly what changes there will be to our weather. Forecasters predict an increase in all kinds of disasters and extreme weather events. These include massive flooding, much more dangerous hurricanes and the spread of the world’s deserts. These new findings provide an urgent call for world leaders to act. The timing of the WWF report is a reminder to those attending the UN climate summit in Copenhagen in December. Rich countries will face pressure to agree to reduce their carbon emissions by 40 per cent by 2020.
冰面的消失對全球氣候產(chǎn)生影響。北極冰面是全球氣候系統(tǒng)的關(guān)鍵。專家稱其為地球的“冰箱”。稱隨著冰面消失,氣候會逐漸變暖。關(guān)于氣候會遭受哪些變化,科學家對此還不清楚。有氣象學家預測,各種自然災害和極端天氣會增多。包括洪澇災害,颶風以及沙漠化。這一發(fā)現(xiàn)為全球領(lǐng)導人敲響警鐘。WWF的這份報告對即將在12月哥本哈根舉行的聯(lián)合國氣候峰會提了醒。在壓力面前,發(fā)達國家或?qū)⑼庠?020年前將碳排放減少40%。