For scientist Steffen Olsen it was just a normal trek through Northwest Greenland to collect weather data when he ran into an unforeseen problem. The white sea has disappeared and was instead covered by water. Thought to be a result of the flooding of Greenland’s ice sheet — the second largest on earth — this one image captures the devastating effect of climate change.
Why is melting ice so critical? The ripple effect would make the sea level rise, forcing millions of people in coastal communities out of their homes and a raft of other calamities.
For Greenland, the problem is already here and as Olsen pointed out on Twitter, communities in Greenland — mainly indigenous — “rely on the sea ice for transport, hunting and fishing.”
Someone, please show this photo to Trump though chances are he’ll deride it as ‘fake new.
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 13, 2019 sled dogs make their way in northwest Greenland with their paws in melted ice water.