The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in its recently released pictures of Antarctica shows the dramatic melting of Antarctic ice due to heatwave, a phenomenon that is becoming more and more common in the area.
The images were taken on February 4, and 13 show the stark difference of snow cover on the Eagle Island ice cap.On February 6, Eagle Island which is only about 25 miles from Argentina’s Esperanza research base, recorded temperature as high as 18.3 degrees, almost similar to that of Los Angeles that day.
The before and after shot show a drastic rise in ice meltdown within a span of nine days. In the image of February 13, a large portion of the ground is visible, which was covered with snow a few days back.
NASA satellite images reveal dramatic melting in Antarctica after record heat wave https://t.co/hgXfMPnwVn pic.twitter.com/Nl2MtlIVhH
â CBS News (@CBSNews) February 23, 2020
According to the NASA report, the island experienced a peak meltdown about 1 inch on the very day, resulting in a loss of 4 inches totals in a one-week period.
The space agency also observed that the second hottest temperature of 17.5 C was recorded five years back in March 2015. The island has lost around 20 per cent of seasonal snow accumulation.
The World Meteorological Department is going to verify the readings. According to the report, the warm temperature in the southernmost continent arrived on February 5 and continued till February 13, 2020. NASA said that following warm spells in November 2019 and January 2020, this February heatwave was the third major melt event of the 2019-2020 summer.
Also Read: Shocking! Antarctica Records Highest Temperature Of 18.3°C
