{"id":45617,"date":"2026-09-16T17:05:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T15:05:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kaizen-blog.org\/?p=45617"},"modified":"2026-09-16T17:23:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T15:23:51","slug":"125-billionen-tonnen-eis-verschwunden-und-die-schmelze-beschleunigt-sich-waehrend-die-afd-den-klimaschutz-entsorgen-will","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kaizen-blog.org\/en\/125-billionen-tonnen-eis-verschwunden-und-die-schmelze-beschleunigt-sich-waehrend-die-afd-den-klimaschutz-entsorgen-will\/","title":{"rendered":"12.5 trillion tons of ice gone - and the melting is accelerating, while the AfD wants to throw climate protection in the trash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since 1979, around 12.5 trillion U.S. tons of ice have disappeared from Greenland and Antarctica. That equals 11.3 trillion metric tons. If that mass were spread evenly across the continental United States, it would cover the country in a layer of ice about 5 feet thick. The number is so huge that it almost starts to sound harmless again. Out at sea, it loses that harmlessness fast. Earth's 2 major ice sheets are reacting more and more strongly to a warming planet. Only about 1\/6 of the loss is reportedly due to warmer air. Around 5\/6, according to the new scientific study, is caused by warmer ocean water attacking the ice sheets from below and along their sides. That reportedly pushes glaciers into the oceans faster. Eric Rignot of the University of California, Irvine, said the ice sheets were melting away rapidly. Sea levels were rising worldwide and would further increase the vulnerability of coastal regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The satellite image shows an ice sheet breaking apart along its coast and flowing into the sea. Images like these are among the data researchers use to measure ice loss in Greenland and Antarctica over decades. Since 1979, a combined 11.3 trillion metric tons of ice have disappeared there. One especially important factor is warmer ocean water, which attacks the ice masses from below and along their edges and speeds up the flow of glaciers into the ocean.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The lost ice became nearly 3 quadrillion gallons of water, equal to 11.3 quadrillion liters. That alone has reportedly raised global sea levels by around 1.2 inches since 1979. Other causes of sea level rise come on top of that. 1.2 inches looks small on a ruler. On a coastline, the same number looks very different. Lead study author Ines Otosaka of Northumbria University puts the consequences in very concrete terms. For every additional centimeter of sea level rise, another 2 to 3 million people would reportedly be flooded at least once a year. Greenland's Jakobshavn Glacier is now reportedly retreating by as much as 164 feet a day. On some days, that means a glacier is moving backward by roughly half the length of a football field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n