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A new study has now put a timeline to an impending disaster: If carbon emissions continue at current levels, summer ice will disappear by 2100 — and, along with it, creatures such as seals and polar bears.

The study

The researchers looked at two scenarios

Optimistic (if carbon emissions are brought in check): By 2050, summer ice in this region will dramatically thin. Under the optimistic scenario, some summer ice could persist indefinitely.

Pessimistic (if emissions continue as they are) : Under the low-emissions scenario, ice from even the central Arctic will wane by mid-century, and will no longer endure through the year. Locally formed summer ice will persist in what is known as the Last Ice Area, but will now be only a metre thick.

The implications

• The study forecasts that under the low-emissions scenario, at least some seals, bears and other creatures may survive.
• These species currently exist under similar summer conditions along western Alaska and parts of Hudson Bay.
• However, under the higher-emissions scenario, by 2100, even the locally formed ice will disappear in summer, the study has found. With no summer ice anywhere, there will be no ice-dependent ecosystems.

Source: Indian Express