Ice that melted in Greenland on July 27 could cover Andhra Pradesh in 2 inches of water

Global warming is not a concept intact in textbooks anymore; its inevitable repercussions especially on ice-caps in polar regions of the Earth are well known but seldom redressed. In an astonishing development on July 29, the United Nations' authoritative voice on weather, climate and water, World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) released data stating enough ice melted in Greenland on July 27 to cover the entire US state of Florida in 2 inches (5 cm) of water. 

Notably, the area of Florida (170,312 km²) is almost equivalent to that of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (162,968 km2). A more extreme ice melting event in Greenland was reported in 2019 as well. An analysis published in the journal Nature stated that the loss of ice in Greenland occurred at a record rate in 2019. The melt was so massive that it would be just enough to cover the entire California in more than four feet of water. To put things in perspective, the area of California is a massive (423,970 km²), an area twice the size of Uttar Pradesh (240,298 km²).

Taking to Twitter, WMO shared, "A massive ice melting event is taking place in Greenland. It would be enough to cover Florida in 2 inches (5 cm) of water Not as extreme as 2019 in terms of gigatons but the melt area is a bit larger than 2 years ago."

'Unsuggestive behaviour of the Greenland Ice Sheet': Polar Portal

Facts shared by Polar Portal represent Danish Arctic research institutions studying ice sheets and sea ice in Greenland. The melting of glaciers is a warning sign as Greenland alone possesses an ice cover and that could raise global sea level by few feet. While scientists have given a heads up that whatever is happening in the Arctic can have massive outcomes on weather globally, the rainfall in Greenland has been increasing as refreezing warms up the ice pack again.

Polar Portal via an explanatory image concerted the recent "heat dome over Canada" as the reason behind the "unsuggestive behaviour" of the Greenland Ice Sheet. They shared as follows, 

This is the third instance of extreme ice melting in the past decade wherein the melting has encroached farther inland starting from the 1970s itself. Greenland is witnessing the most significant melting events annually as temperatures surge in the Arctic. 2019 was a record melt year wherein over 40% of Greenland experienced melting. A total ice loss was estimated to be more than 2 billion tons on one day alone.

If these extreme melting patterns are the new normal, it will have boundless ramifications globally, especially for the sea level rise.