The 28th edition of UNEP’s Foresight Brief looks at the global ecological, climate, economic and geopolitical implications of the loss of Arctic sea ice.
The Arctic is a remote and sparsely inhabited area. It is connected to the rest of the world by our climate system, the atmosphere surrounding our Earth and by global ocean currents. Since satellite measurements started 40 years ago, about half of the sea ice area in the Arctic has been lost. The shrinking summer sea ice cover is a visible manifestation of global warming, and affects marine ecosystems, ocean circulation, and potentially weather events further south of the Arctic.
The Arctic, with the most fragile of ecosystems, is a hotspot of climate change. A visible sign of change is the steady retreat of the sea-ice cover since the 1970s. Changes in Arctic sea ice can potentially affect other regions through altered weather patterns and ocean circulation. An ice-free Arctic is creating new business opportunities, political challenges, and threats to the ecosystems and local communities.
