The Ice-Free North Pole

Will there be one event that finally galvanizes international action on climate change? Something so shocking that it becomes a tipping point for politicians to finally take this issue seriously.

It did not happen after Hurricane Katrina. Nor did it happen after the European floods or heatwaves. Maybe the news, from today’s Independent, that for the first time in human history, ice is on course to disappear entirely from the North Pole this year, could be such an event.

The disappearance of the Arctic sea ice, making it possible to reach the Pole sailing in a boat through open water, would be one of the most dramatic – and worrying – examples of the impact of global warming on the planet. Scientists say the ice at 90 degrees north may well have melted away by the summer.

“From the viewpoint of science, the North Pole is just another point on the globe, but symbolically it is hugely important. There is supposed to be ice at the North Pole, not open water,” said Mark Serreze of the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre in Colorado.

“The issue is that, for the first time that I am aware of, the NorthPole is covered with extensive first-year ice – ice that formed last autumn and winter. I’d say it’s even-odds whether the North Pole melts out,” said Dr Serreze.

Ironically an ice-free Arctic could be such a tipping point for action on climate, but rather it will be seen as a business opportunity to look for more oil and gas, causing only climate change…