Antarctica's unexpected green revolution accelerates climate alarm
Antarctica is greening faster than scientists predicted. According to researchers, analyses of satellite images show that the green areas in Antarctica are ten times greater than they were 40 years ago.
7 October 2024 08:16
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 agree that climate change is affecting the continent much faster than anticipated. The results of satellite imagery studies conducted by scientists from the University of Exeter, the University of Hertfordshire, and the British Antarctic Survey confirm the growing extent of ice-free areas.
Only a small area of Antarctica has vegetation. However, according to the researchers' assessment, this small portion has grown dramatically, as Sky News cites. Experts predict that this trend could lead to significant changes in Antarctica in the coming decades.
"But that tiny fraction has grown dramatically—showing that even this vast and isolated 'wilderness' is being affected by anthropogenic climate change," admits Dr. Thomas Roland from the University of Exeter. The surprising data reveals a growing picture of change visible even from the 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, the area covered by vegetation in one section of the Antarctic Peninsula increased from less than 1 square kilometre in 1986 to nearly 13 square kilometres in 2021. This territory has grown more than tenfold, dramatically accelerating climate and environmental processes.
From 2016 to 2021, the growth rate of green areas increased by over 30 percent. 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 the Earth.
Thomas Roland warned against further neglect of the changing climate. "Our findings raise serious concerns about the environmental future of the Antarctic Peninsula, and of the continent as a whole. In order to protect Antarctica, we must understand these changes and identify precisely what is causing them," he emphasized.
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 chances to stop the escalating climate crisis, evident in changes near civilization and remote, isolated places.
