Antarctica's unexpected green growth raises climate alarms
7 October 2024 08:23
Antarctica is greening faster than scientists predicted. Researchers' analyses of satellite images show that the green areas in Antarctica are ten times larger than 40 years ago.
The expansion of green areas in Antarctica is currently ten times larger than 40 years ago, reports the Polish Press Agency. Experts from British universities concur that climate change is impacting the continent much faster than anticipated. The results of the studies using satellite images conducted by scientists from the University of Exeter, the University of Hertfordshire, and the British Antarctic Survey confirm the increasing extent of areas free from ice.
Currently, vegetation still exists on a small area of Antarctica; however, this "small portion has grown dramatically," according to researchers, as cited by Sky News. Experts predict that this trend could lead to significant changes in Antarctica in the coming decades.
"The scale of this phenomenon shocked us," admits Dr Thomas Roland from the University of Exeter. The surprising data reveals a growing picture of change visible even from Earth's orbit. Scientists claim that the material they have gathered is evidence that human activity significantly affects the situation in Antarctica.
Antarctica is greening
According to the researchers' findings, in one section of the Antarctic Peninsula, the area covered by vegetation increased from less than 1 square kilometre in 1986 to nearly 13 square kilometres in 2021. The amount of such territory has grown more than tenfold, indicating a dramatic acceleration in climate and environmental processes.
From 2016 to 2021, the growth rate of green areas increased by over 30 per cent. According to scientists, these data show that changes caused by human activity "have an unlimited range" and can be observed even in the most isolated regions of Earth.
Thomas Roland warned against further neglect of the changing climate. "The research results raise serious concerns about the future of the natural environment of the Antarctic Peninsula and the entire continent," he emphasised.
As indicated by the studies cited by PAP, the changes are undeniable, and their impact will only increase if the global community does not take appropriate steps. Dr Roland pointed out that "significant actions, cooperation, and responsibility" are the only chance to stop the escalating climate crisis, which is evident in changes near civilisation and in remote, isolated places.
