Communities far from the Arctic may soon feel the ripple effects of this summer's unusual conditions in Greenland. Rising seas, higher tides during storms, and risks to food and health systems all trace back to one source -- faster ice melt.
Explorers who crossed the Greenland ice sheet this season reported encountering rivers of meltwater and unstable snowpack, which made their journeys treacherous, according to ExplorersWeb. Their experiences offer a visible warning that what happens in the Arctic doesn't stay there.
Teams trekking across Greenland said this summer looked starkly different from previous years. Henk-Jan Geel's group faced icefall, flowing rivers, and meltwater lakes, forcing detours that slowed their journey.
"At that time, we experienced -32˚C. This time, the coldest we recorded was -18, -19 during one morning," Geel told ExplorersWeb.
Ousland Explorers guide Kathinka Gyllenhammar, guiding along the historic Nansen route, saw similar challenges: "There is a lot more snow melted than usual. So it has been trekking till here," she said.
Adventurer Matthieu Tordeur, snowkiting with glaciologist Dr. Heidi Sevestre, noted "so many meltpools this year that we didn't have five years ago."
Greenland has been losing approximately 266 billion metric tons of ice (roughly 293 billion tons) per year over the past two decades, per NASA. Arctic ice melt drives sea level rise. It increases the risk of flooding in coastal towns, disrupts food supplies through saltwater intrusion, and creates warmer conditions that can facilitate the spread of disease.
These changes aren't isolated. Europe faced severe heatwaves and droughts, and snowpack loss across the Northern Hemisphere adds to the evidence that global temperatures are rising.
Although extreme weather events have always existed, scientists agree that human activity is supercharging them. Environmentally harmful practices act like "steroids" for storms, floods, and heatwaves, making them more destructive to our communities.
Researchers are closely monitoring Greenland's ice loss, and organizations worldwide are urging strong action to slow the Earth's overheating.
People are encouraged to explore pressing climate challenges and take local action to reduce heat-trapping gases from homes and communities. Switching to electric vehicles and reducing plastic use can slow the rise in temperatures and curb the risks of an unstable future.