30/03/2019 - Environment

KEY POINTS

One of the most dramatic effects of global warming is seen in the Arctic region. In recent years the ice in the Arctic Sea has been melting rapidly. In 2007, a large part of the Arctic Sea became ice free in summer months for the first time in living history. 

Possible consequences

The melting of the ice in the Arctic Sea has had two major geopolitical impacts:

·        One, new shipping routes between the Atlantic Ocean in the west and the Pacific Ocean in the East, linking Europe with Asia in the north, have opened up. These consist of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and the North West passage.

·        Second, opening of the Arctic Sea has given way for resource mapping in the Arctic region. The Arctic Sea is estimated to have as much 10 to 20% of the world’s oil and nearly 30% of natural gas.

Importance of arctic region:

·        The territories in the Arctic Circle regions of Russia, Norway, Sweden and Finland have large minerals, particularly, the iron ore. Mineral exploration and exploitation is expected to pick up as Arctic shipping develops further in the future.

·        Apart from the minerals, the Arctic regions will emerge as a new source of fishing. The region is already being called the ‘kitchen of Europe’. The releases of new lands as a result of melting of ice will lead to development of the agriculture in the region.

·        Polar tourism is picking up too. The small Norwegian town of Kirkenes attracts nearly 200,000 tourists in the year.

Negative consequences

·        Arctic warming weakens the temperature difference between the tropics and the poles, resulting in less precipitation, weaker cyclones and mid-latitude westerly wind flow — a recipe for prolonged droughts.

·        When the Arctic is warmer, the jet stream and other wind patterns tend to be weaker; the temperature difference in the Arctic and the tropics is less steep. The change brings less precipitation to the mid-latitudes.

·        Currently, the northern high latitudes are warming at rates that are double the global average.This will decrease the equator-to-pole temperature gradient to values, causing droughts.