Almost all the ice covering the Bering Sea has melted, scientists have confirmed, throwing communities living around its shores into disarray. The region’s ice cover normally persists for at least another month, and this year it has vanished earlier than any other year except 2017. Located in the northern Pacific Ocean between Alaska and Russia, the Bering Sea is experiencing the brunt of climate change and has already drawn attention this year for unprecedented levels of winter melting. In February, soaring Arctic temperatures led to around half the region’s ice disappearing in the space of two weeks. This trend has continued into spring, and scientists have confirmed that by the end of April just 10 per cent of normal ice levels remained.
Independent 6th May 2018 read more »
