Our frozen worlds

Our life on earth depends on the coldest places on our planet – the icy worlds of the Arctic and Antarctica.       

     The Arctic region is the northernmost region of the planet, consisting of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Russia, Greenland, Canada, USA, Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Finland that lie above the ‘Arctic Circle’. This is an imaginary line around the top of the globe. About 4 Million people live in the Arctic region, and the Arctic sea ice supports a wide range of animal species from microscopic algae to the world’s largest land carnivore, the polar bear. 

      At the other end of the earth, the Antarctic is the world’s highest, driest, windiest and coldest continent. It is bigger than Europe and is so dry that it’s actually classed as a desert. The freezing Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica is teeming with life. The waters are full of nutrients which feed plankton at the bottom of the food chain. This is a vital source of food for krill, tiny shrimplike creatures which are then eaten by seals, penguins, seabirds and whales. 

WHY DOES ICE MATTER? 

     The ice provides a platform on which much life in the polar regions depends. Polar bears need the sea ice to hunt for seals. If the ice connected to land forms later and melts earlier in the year, the bears have less time to hunt and it becomes harder for females to build up the fat stores that they need to nurse their cubs. Walruses can’t climb out of the sea onto thin ice, and caribou risk falling through it as they cross between islands or headlands. In the Antarctic, krill need sea ice under which to feed and nurture their young. Penguins, which eat krill and small fish are a vital source of food for predators such as leopard seals and killer whales.

       Every one of us needs the ice in these frozen worlds. That’s because it reflects the rays of the sun back into space and this keeps our planet cool. The polar regions act as a giant air conditioner, helping to protect us from the effects of climate change. 

SO, WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? 

        Globally, sea ice is diminishing faster than ever before. Some regions are losing sea ice faster than others, with terrible consequences for wildlife in those areas. We are burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas which releases carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere. This causes global warming and melting ice. At a local level cars that use petrol or diesel add to the problem, while also making the air we breathe dirty so that more people get asthma as a child, and people die earlier because of problems caused by air pollution. 

       Melting ice causes lots of problems that affect everyone on the planet – not just the animals who need the ice to hunt, breed and sleep. Loss of ice from the poles is causing weather systems to change because the Arctic and parts of Antarctica are warming faster than the rest of our planet. We are already seeing more droughts and flooding around the world. Also, when ice melts it will cause sea levels to rise so that millions of people and lots of wildlife could see their homes disappear below the waves. 

WHAT CAN WE DO? 

        The future of our planet is in our hands. We have the technology to use energy that comes from clean and renewable sources such as wind and solar power. It we stop burning fossil fuels it’s better for our planet and better for us too. Using renewable energy is cheap, and it means we can breathe clean air which keeps us all healthier. Electric cars can reduce the use of petrol, which means cleaner air for us all to breathe. If the electricity is coming from clean renewable sources then the planet is benefiting too!

SOURCE: https://ourplanet.com/en/