Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Greenland Was Hotter Than New York City Last Week

Grist reports Greenland was hotter than New York City last week

The island experienced the highest temperatures ever recorded on June 9, when air temperature in Nuuk, the capital city, soared to 75 degrees. While that may seem like no sweat, the average high for this time of year between 1961 and 1990 was just 44 degrees, and even Greenland’s hottest month rarely broke 50.

All this hot air caused Greenland’s sea ice, which is the size of Texas, to begin thawing nearly six weeks before normal this year. The rapid melting of over 12 percent of the ice sheet was so unusual in April that Danish Meteorological Institute scientist Peter Langen said they “had to check that our models were still working properly.”

A melted Greenland means the oceans rise 20 feet.

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