Does it rain on polar ice sheets?
Can it rain in winter on the Himalayas? Can it rain in the polar region or in Alaska or Siberia? Common sense tells us this is impossible. In regions of extreme cold climate, there would be snow and sleet (a ‘slush’ version of soft snow), but rain is not possible since the rain drops would freeze. But this is exactly what happened on August 14, 2021.
First rain on a Greenland ice sheet – ever!
Greenland saw rain at the highest point of its ice sheet for the first time ever since weather on the ice sheet has been recorded. Greenland is a huge and terribly cold island close to the Artic Pole. While its coastal regions are inhabitable, the central part of Greenland is one huge, completely frozen ice sheet.
Scientists have been making observations there to keep track of how climate change is affecting every part of the planet. According to the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center, on the 14th of August this year, rain started falling and continued for several hours on a part of the ice sheet 10,551 feet above sea level.
Why did it rain on ice this August?
Another group of scientists, the National Science Foundation's Summit Station, recorded temperature above freezing point for the first time this year on that rainy day. This is what researchers call a ‘melt event’, when very thick ice begins to melt at a faster pace. There were also high and low air pressure zones nearby.
But how did rain form in a place so cold?
Rain could form because it’s not so cold anymore. It was 18 degree Celsius higher than average temperature in Greenland on August 14. Rising global temperature driven by climate change has made extreme weather events common everywhere. The Greenland Ice Sheet is not an exception anymore.
Why is this scary?
According to a NASA study in 2020, Greenland and Antarctica has been adding gallons of water to our oceans at an increasing speed. Carbon emission from human activities is raising the temperature, which is causing melt events. We are raising our own flood risk.