The heat wave was observed hitting the Earth's North Pole and South Pole. This condition makes scientists worried about climate change.
As quoted by us from the Guardian, Thursday (24/3/2022) the temperature in Antarctica has reached record temperatures recently, even higher by 40 degrees Celsius in some locations.
At the same time, weather stations close to the North Pole recorded ice melting. Some of the temperatures there are more than 30 degrees Celsius above normal temperatures.
In fact, at this time, the Antarctic region should cool quickly after experiencing summer. The Arctic has just experienced winter. Thus, the high temperature that occurs is considered worrying.
The high temperatures at the poles are said to be a warning sign of disturbances in Earth's climate system. At last year's Panel of Climate Change meeting, signs of polar warming were already emerging and may be irreversible. So, the ice will quickly melt and make sea levels rise. As a result, some areas of the Earth that are on the edge of the sea can sink.
Not to mention that when the poles melt, especially in the Arctic, there will be dark oceans that will absorb more heat than ice. This causes the Earth to get even hotter.
"Warming in the Arctic and South Pole is alarming. So are extreme weather events. These events indicate the need for urgent action," said Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University.
"My colleagues and I were surprised by the number of extreme weather events in 2021. Now, Arctic temperatures are setting records which for me, indicate that we are entering a new phase of extreme climate change, much earlier than we thought," said Mark Maslin, professor at University College London.