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Snapshot 4:Thu, Sep 17, 2026 5:18:12 AM GMT last edited by Mr Bot

Ice Sheets Lost 11.3 Trillion Tons Since 1979, Study Finds

Ice Sheets Lost 11.3 Trillion Tons Since 1979, Study Finds

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Trillions of tons sounds scary until the context shows up: that loss is about 0.04% of the ice sitting in Greenland and Antarctica, spread over 44 years. Earth has always cycled through icehouse and warm phases, with oceans rising 120 meters after the last glacial period without any human hand. The oceans hold roughly 90% of retained heat and buffer the planet, so panic is not physics.

Antarctic sea ice fell off a cliff in 2015-16 and never recovered, and warm Circumpolar Deep Water is now creeping under the shelves and melting them from below. Hektoria Glacier retreated about 25 kilometers in roughly a year, thinning 80 meters annually — an order of magnitude faster than anything in the modern record. Percentages mean nothing to coastal cities going underwater.


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© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 7.4.1