Wow, just watch this...
This is one of the many tipping points climate scientists are concerned about.
When we go beyond just simple things like above average temperatures etc. and we start to see things happening in places they are not supposed to, with staggering knock on effects.
The video below shows was happened the previous northern hemisphere winter (2015) in the Arctic.
What is of much concern is that this is a potential tipping point.
Arctic winter Sea ice has been growing slower than average for a while now but when we not only see sea ice growth stopping but actually retreating during winter that is a very worrying precedent especially if it becomes a trend.
As storms managed to reach far further north than usual with worrying effects on the ice growth and resulting in record low levels of sea ice last year.
Sea ice has reflective properties and the sea ice that grows in the arctic winter, reflects a lot of sunlight, while it shrinks in the summer keeping the Arctic Ocean cooler.
With less and less sea ice there is less and less reflection and more of that sunlight ends up being absorbed and heating the arctic sea.
Warmer arctic seas are particularly troublesome in that methane that is trapped under the sea is now being released and bubbling to the surface.
Methane is much more potent than CO2 in capturing heat from the sun.
If we lose a substantial portion of the arctic polar ice cap we will be in for some truly challenging changes in sea currents and weather patterns globally.
This is not without precedent and the geological record documents times when the arctic was free of ice about 100 to 120 thousand years ago. However we are not supposed to be there now and aproaching these conditions at such a rapid rate.
