Antarctic’s meltdown

Recently the opening of the third Indian post office on Antarctica has been in the news. India has two research stations on the Antarctic – Maitri and Bharti over 3000 km apart. The third post office opened at Bharti station is part of the Goa postal division and has the pin code MH 1718. While this is heartwarming and symbolic, the changes occurring in the Antarctic region are something to think about.

Photo courtesy: https://www.lokmat.com/jarahatke/india-post-opens-third-post-office-in-antarctica-continent-claims-to-be-a-symbolic-yet-landmark-effort-a-a747/

Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent in terms of total area. It covers about 20% of the Southern Hemisphere, contains the South Pole and houses 90% of the planets ice. It is unique as it does not have any native human population, and is known for its penguin colonies. It is governed by a peaceful collaborative Antarctic Treaty System, to which 56 nations are a part. The treaty has made Antarctica a scientific preserve and established freedom of scientific investigation and environmental protection.

It is called the Earth’s refrigerator as its ice sheets hold the largest volume of water on Earth, keeping it out of the seas. The melting of ice in the Arctic and Greenland has been engaging attention since quite some time; however Antarctic was thought to be untouched. However, recent research has shown that the continent is undergoing a massive change as a result of climate change. The ice covering the continent is thawing and its consequences will be felt around the globe. Alarm bells have rung in the second half of 2023, when the sea ice floating around the continent reduced to 10% lower than 2022. As winter advanced, the ice struggled to recover, but it remained lower than averages. Surveys of the entire ice sheet show that overall ice loss is eclipsing new snowfall. The Antarctic Ice Sheet is in decline.

This is concerning because for centuries it is this refrigerator that has kept the Earth cooler than it would otherwise be. A thaw in the Antarctic ice sheets would, apart from raising sea levels around the Southern ocean, also reduce the gravitational attraction its reducing ice exerts on the waters. This would lead to rising seas levels elsewhere too. The rising levels would also impact the Northern Hemisphere where most of humanity lives. These melting ice sheets also shift atmospheric circulation that could impact the equator and beyond, changing weather in the Amazon and the Sahel.

The Southern Ocean that surrounds the Antarctic is the largest sink for carbon dioxide and heat on the planet. It soaks up nearly 12% of the annual carbon emissions due to human activity. If trillions of tons of fresh water flow into it from the melting ice sheets, the ocean currents would change. This would warm up the ocean, reducing the absorption of carbon dioxide.

As the data piles up, and the alarm bells ring, the need of the hour is research and measures to understand the changes occurring. The countries that are part of the treaty system need to focus research on the shift occurring on this remote continent, to keep the largest refrigerator of the planet intact and functioning.