Greenland ice melted 17 times faster than average in May heat wave

Greenland's ice sheet melted 17 times faster than the historic average during a May heatwave that also hit Iceland, the scientific network World Weather Attribution (WWA) has warned in a new report Wednesday. 

Friederike Otto, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, Imperial College, London said "The late May heat increased the melting rate of the Greenland ice sheet by, from a preliminary analysis, a factor of 17. And that, of course, means the Greenland ice sheet contribution to sea level rise is higher than it would have otherwise been without this heat wave but also, of course, it means there's more freshwater intrusion in the North Atlantic."

According to the WWA, the record highs observed in Iceland and Greenland this May could reoccur every 100 years. For Greenland's indigenous communities, the warmer temperatures and melting ice affect their ability to hunt on the ice, posing a threat to their livelihood and traditional way of life.