Polar bear numbers dropping because of meltng Arctic sea ice

Scientists have sounded an alarm with regard to polar bears - the polar bear numbers could drop by a third in the next 40 years and that would be because of melting Arctic sea ice caused by global warming. In the opinion of scientists, there is a 71% likelihood that polar bear numbers will be reduced by more than 30% in three generations.
This would mean that the current population of some 26,000 bears could be cut to around 17,300 over a period of 35 to 41 years.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 7 December 2016.

The animals are already listed as "vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened and endangered species. The loss of sea ice as a result of climate change is having a direct impact on the ability of polar bears to feed and survive. These animals need platforms of ice to reach their prey of ringed and bearded seals and some sea of the ice lies over more productive hunting areas than others.
Incidentally, polar bears have been divided into 19 sub-populations by scientists and two of which have already experienced population declines due to shrinking sea ice.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Climate change alarm bells ring as North Pole records temperatures 20 degrees C above average

Alarm bells have begun to ring to warn about severe climate change in the offing as the North Pole records a temperatures that is 20 degrees C (36 degrees Fahrenheit) above average. This rise in temperature coupled with a record low extent of sea ice for October, is a major cause for alarm and is sending climate change alarm bells ringing around the world.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 19 November 2016.

Right now it is polar night when night lasts for more than 24 hours and the Arctic is supposed to get super-cold. October is the first full month when sea ice is supposed to grow. But, the situation is bad - the ice area is 28.5% below the 1981-2010 average, the smallest extent since records began to be maintained in 1979.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has declared this October as the third warmest on record behind 2014 and 2015.
In the opinion of NOAA meteorologists, the Arctic has been unusually warm for a long period of time. Parts of Greenland, including the top of Greenland's ice sheet, were over 7 degrees Celsius warmer than average last month and, there has been a "meteoric rise in October temperatures on Alaska's north slope." This has been revealed by NOAA 's climate science and services manager in Alaska.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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