Imagine this: You go to sleep, on a really hot, sunny and humid day. You sleep for a few hours, and when you wake up, you see yourself surrounded by water. You are half submerged and gallons of water is engulfing you from every side.
Think about this scenario for a second.
Would you like this to happen?
Unfortunately, this might become a reality if the ice caps and glaciers keep melting rapidly.
There are many challenges that the world has already started facing due to the melting ice caps. Sea level has started increasing, changes in the weather patterns have become more evident than ever and finally, the habitats of several animals have been dramatically altered due to this melting.
Increasing Sea Level
Firstly, due to the amount of water stored inside the glaciers, the water levels will rise dramatically. This is due to how much water is stored inside the ice caps. When the ice caps melt, all the water sloshes around. It is somewhat similar to way when you pour water into a glass. This sloshing has the potential to wipe out entire coastal cities. In fact it is predicted that if all the glaciers on Earth were to melt, the global sea level would rise approximately 70 meters (approximately 230 feet), flooding every coastal city on the planet. This is a huge problem and we must realize that melting ice caps are a matter of grave concern.
Erratic Changes
Secondly, the weather becomes erratic due to the melting of ice-caps and glaciers. This is due to the evaporation of the water that is stored in such places. Due to this evaporation, the precipitation will increase manifold. It will cause devastating effects for farmers, especially in countries near the Arctic and the Antarctic. It can cause crops to become flooded and die.
Another effect of this widespread melting is that it could potentially change the entire structure of the Southern Ocean. The reason for this is that fresh water contained inside the ice-caps and glaciers is less dense than the salty ocean waters. Thus, the large quantities of water from the melted ice-caps and glaciers will not mix with water in the ocean. Instead, it will make a layer above the ocean, just the way oil makes a layer above water when poured on it. This will trap the heat dramatically causing the layers beneath it to warm up. It will also bring about unprecedented effects on the marine life. This and similar phenomenon caused by melting ice caps will result in far reaching climatic consequences such as further melting of ice caps, decreased salinity of oceans, increased heat waves, etc.
Effect on Wild Life
Finally, the melting of icecaps and glaciers affects the animals that live close to them. One example is polar bears, which live on ice floes. According to the website www.marinemammalcenter.org, the melting of ice caps causes the bears to lose the ice that they live on resulting in their drowning to a very painful death. This is also the same for many other animals like the Arctic fox. Likewise, https://www.bas.ac.uk/about/antarctica/wildlife/penguins/ states that the penguins may be able to swim and survive underwater, but the ice is its safe haven from predators like sea lions and killer whales. Because the ice caps are melting, the penguins are being poached by these predators. Chances are they won’t live long to see another piece of ice to live on. This is terrible and we must stop making the earth warmer in order to protect the diverse ecosystems that sustain the earth.
In conclusion, the melting of ice caps and glaciers is a huge problem that we should address asap. The underlying complications such as the rise of sea levels, erratic climate change and animals becoming homeless should be clear indicators to humanity that we should try and stop this vicious process before it consumes mankind.
Writer : Aadarsh Nair
Grade : 9 (Year 2024)
Place : Melbourne, Australia
