Shocking Antarctic discovery delights climate change deniers

Chinese researchers from Tongji University in Shanghai have found that the frozen continent has suddenly reversed its decades-long catastrophic melting trend, accumulating record amounts of ice in recent years. While the Antarctic ice sheet had been losing ice at an alarming rate for nearly two decades from 2002 to 2020, the trend has reversed dramatically in 2021, the Daily Mail reports. The study found that unusually "intense snowfall" in Antarctica from 2021 to 2023 has contributed to layers of fresh ice, which has also slowed sea level rise.

Sea levels are rising as ocean temperatures rise and glaciers melt due to global warming, threatening to flood major coastal cities around the world. Overall, scientists have found that this three-year climate change has reduced the annual rise in sea levels by nearly 15 percent, a significant difference.

Before this recent climate change in Antarctica, researchers estimate that the ice sheet had been losing about 120 billion tons of ice per year over the previous two decades. Between 2021 and 2023, the continent gained about 108 billion tons of ice per year.

While the researchers noted that the unexpected results only reflect a temporary change in Antarctic weather patterns that could eventually reverse, climate change skeptics were quick to respond to the findings on social media.

"The ice in Antarctica has grown! Climate change is a hoax!" wrote one social media user.

"LOL, climate crisis, right now. Antarctica has more ice than ever before," notes another climate skeptic.

"Climate crisis?" You mean there is too much ice in Antarctica?" added a sarcastic internet user.

The scientists behind the discovery found that between 2021 and 2023, abnormal weather patterns led to increased humidity across the continent, particularly in the eastern half of Antarctica. The patterns were likely caused by shifting winds or storms, possibly influenced by climate change, but the study's authors were quick to point out that the change was an "unprecedented" event, the Daily Mail notes.

Despite historic ice gains across Antarctica between 2021 and 2023, the study found the continent has suffered a net loss of 1.848 trillion tonnes of ice over the past two decades.

The melting ice has caused global sea levels to rise by about 5.99 millimetres by February 2020, the Daily Mail continues. The link between melting snow and rising sea levels has real consequences. Rising sea levels could flood coastal cities, wash away beaches and damage ecosystems.

Recent studies have shown that climate change is a major factor causing flooding problems in major cities like New Orleans, which is currently being submerged as the entire Gulf Coast erodes.

In fact, climate scientists warn that rising sea levels caused by melting Antarctic ice sheets are now putting more than two dozen cities at increased risk of flooding over the next three decades.

"Climate change is being touted as the only explanation for everything that happens in the world. Drought, famine, floods, wars, racism - call it what you will. And if it's bad, it's because of global warming caused by humans," says human geography professor Hume.

"I don't agree with the doomsday predictors. Climate change is not like a comet approaching the Earth. There is no convincing scientific or historical evidence that it will lead to the extinction of humanity or the collapse of human civilization," the professor added.

According to the expert, the new study has revealed a much more complex picture of what is happening at the South Pole.

While this and other studies have found trends linked to climate change, such as accelerating ice melt and warmer oceans, the same studies can also reveal extreme temperature swings that seem to defy those trends. From 2021 to 2023, the main reason Antarctica was able to regain so much of its ice was because of “large precipitation anomalies” — or massive amounts of snow that can’t be calculated from year to year, the scientists said.

As with other snow-producing regions around the world, snowstorms don't happen every year like clockwork, so scientists believe the change may be temporary.

While climate deniers are taking a victory lap right now, a study published in the journal Science China Earth Sciences continues to show a worrying trend that has been unfolding throughout the 21st century. The study notes that in the second decade of the 21st century (2011-2020), ice loss was twice as great as in the first (2002-2010). This sharp increase in melting was driven by ice loss in West Antarctica and increased losses in Wilkes Land and Queen Mary Land in East Antarctica.

Meanwhile, the stunning turnaround between 2021 and 2023 was driven by massive snowfalls in East Antarctica, particularly in areas such as Dronning Maud Land and Enderby Land. This also contributed to a sea level drop of 5.10 millimetres by 2023.

Despite the overall increase in ice cover, West Antarctica actually continued to lose ice as warm ocean waters melted the glaciers from below, contributing to sea level rise.

The study calculated that if all the ice on Wilkes Land in East Antarctica melted, it could raise sea levels by more than 171 feet. Even smaller losses, such as those from the continent's Totten Glacier (a potential rise of 12.8 feet), could have major impacts worldwide.