Melting Ice Caps & Rising Sea Levels

June 22nd, 2022 Written by Anish Senthil

Arctic ice caps are melting at approximately 13 percent, as about 1 trillion tons of ice are being lost from the Earth. This problem has persisted for years, but only recently have we seen a significant rise in melted ice caps, as the amount of ice caps melting per year has increased by 60 percent over the span of 30 years. Many country leaders have addressed this issue, some having conflicting thoughts on it.

In 2016, former President of the United States Barack Obama and current Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau released a joint statement calling to disallow any corporations to take advantage of melting ice caps, and to build a “science-based precautionary” on ice caps and Arctic waters. United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson has addressed his concerns over the climate in an opposing manner to that of Barack Obama, stating that the United Kingdom should take advantage of melting ice caps in Antarctica, as it could provide economic benefits. 

Melting ice caps causes another huge issue, a rise in sea levels. Sea levels have risen approximately 8.5 inches since the late 1800s, with most of that coming in recent years. In Ocean Basins sea levels have risen approximately 7 inches, ever since the start of Satellite records. Rising sea levels are seen as a great threat to human life and infrastructure issues such as emerging railways and roads, and intrusion of salt water into drinking water, as a decent amount of Earth’s population lives near the water. Tuvalu Prime Minister has addressed his concerns on this issue, stating the issues with human mobility with sea levels rising. 

With these problems persisting we should continue to address these matters and call on our governments and leaders to take significant action. Our infrastructure and human life face no greater threat than the rise of sea levels and melting ice caps.

- Anish Senthil