POLAND: For the first time ever recorded in history rain fell for several hours at the highest point on the Greenland ice sheet.
It was the first report of rain at the normally frigid summit, and it marks only the third time in less than a decade that above-freezing temperatures were recorded at the Arctic research station, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
The rare rainfall caused significant melting at the summit and along the ice sheet's southeastern coast over the weekend and occurred just weeks after the region experienced a separate extensive melting event in late July. The recent warm spell adds to concerns that climate change is rapidly melting ice in the Arctic, which accelerates sea-level rise around the world.
Above-freezing temperatures were recorded at Summit Station, which sits at an elevation of 10,551 feet above sea level, beginning Saturday at 5 a.m. local time. The National Snow and Ice Data Center estimated that over the course of three days 7 billion tons of rain fell over the ice sheet.
"Warm conditions and the late-season timing of the three-day melt event coupled with the rainfall led to both high melting and high runoff volumes to the ocean," National Snow and Ice Data Center researchers said in a statement.
The rain and warmer-than-usual temperatures were caused by a region of low air pressure that settled over Baffin Island and a ridge of high pressure over southeast Greenland that pushed warm air and moisture up from the south.
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