A new report by the WWF shows that the melting of arctic sea ice and the Greenland Ice Sheet is 'severely accelerated', prompting concerns that both may be close to their 'tipping point'; the point where, because of climate change, natural systems may experience sudden, rapid and perhaps irreversible change.

"When you look in detail at the science behind the recent Arctic changes it becomes painfully clear how our understanding of climate impacts lags behind the changes that we are already seeing in the Arctic," said report co-author and senior climate change adviser at WWF International's Arctic Programme, Dr Martin Sommerkorn.

"This is extremely dangerous, as some of these changes have the potential to substantially increase the warming of the Earth, beyond what models currently forecast," he added.

The study found that change was occurring in all arctic systems, impacting on the atmosphere and oceans, sea ice and ice sheets, snow and permafrost, as well as species and populations, food webs, ecosystems and human societies.

According to last year's reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), if the entire Greenland Ice Sheet were to melt, sea levels would rise 7.3m, making its status a global concern.

While it is currently impossible to accurately predict how much of the ice sheet will be melting, and over which time, the new report shows there has been a far greater loss of ice mass in the past few years than had been predicted by scientific models.

•Date: 24th April 2008• Region: World •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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