Category Archives: Greenland

Rain falls on peak of Greenland ice cap for first time on record

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Precipitation was so unexpected, scientists had no gauges to measure it, and is stark sign of climate crisis

Rain has fallen on the summit of Greenland’s huge ice cap for the first time on record. Temperatures are normally well below freezing on the 3,216-metre (10,551ft) peak, and the precipitation is a stark sign of the climate crisis.

Scientists at the US National Science Foundation’s summit station saw rain falling throughout 14 August but had no gauges to measure the fall because the precipitation was so unexpected. Across Greenland, an estimated 7bn tonnes of water was released from the clouds.

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Greenland ice sheet on brink of major tipping point, says study

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Scientists say ice equivalent to 1-2 metres of sea level rise is probably already doomed to melt

A significant part of the Greenland ice sheet is on the brink of a tipping point, after which accelerated melting would become inevitable even if global heating was halted, according to new research.

Rising temperatures caused by the climate crisis have already seen trillions of tonnes of Greenland’s ice pour into the ocean. Melting its ice sheet completely would eventually raise global sea level by 7 metres.

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Greenland’s ice melting faster than at any time in past 12,000 years

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Increased loss of ice could trigger sea level rise of up to 10cm by end of century

Greenland’s ice is starting to melt faster than at any time in the past 12,000 years, research has shown, which will raise sea levels and could have a marked impact on ocean currents.

New measurements show the rate of melting matches any in the geological record for the Holocene period – defined as the period since the last ice age – and is likely to accelerate, according to a paper published in the journal Nature.

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New all-time coldest northern hemisphere temperature discovered

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Reading of -69.C in 1991 from Greenland is nearly 2C colder than previous known records

The coldest temperature ever recorded in the northern hemisphere just got colder, thanks to the work of climate detectives at the World Meteorological Organization.

Searching through the WMO archives of heat records from weather stations at the top of the world, researchers found the coldest temperature reading came from an automatic weather station in Greenland in midwinter almost 30 years ago, nearly 2C (3.6F) colder than the previous known records.

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Earth has lost 28 trillion tonnes of ice in less than 30 years

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‘Stunned’ scientists say there is little doubt global heating is to blame for the loss

A total of 28 trillion tonnes of ice have disappeared from the surface of the Earth since 1994. That is stunning conclusion of UK scientists who have analysed satellite surveys of the planet’s poles, mountains and glaciers to measure how much ice coverage lost because of global heating triggered by rising greenhouse gas emissions.

The scientists – based at Leeds and Edinburgh universities and University College London – describe the level of ice loss as “staggering” and warn that their analysis indicates that sea level rises, triggered by melting glaciers and ice sheets, could reach a metre by the end of the century.

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Greenland wary of US plans for aid projects in its territory

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Politicians say expected announcement of $12m must not have conditions attached

Greenlanders have welcomed reports that the US wants to invest in their island, but said the money had to come without conditions.

The US administration is expected to announce the opening of an Agency for International Development office at the new US consulate in the capital, Nuuk, and at least $12m (£9.7m) in aid projects.

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Greenland’s melting ice raised global sea level by 2.2mm in two months

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Analysis of satellite data reveals astounding loss of 600bn tons of ice last summer as Arctic experienced hottest year on record

Last year’s summer was so warm that it helped trigger the loss of 600bn tons of ice from Greenland – enough to raise global sea levels by 2.2mm in just two months, new research has found.

The analysis of satellite data has revealed the astounding loss of ice in just a few months of abnormally high temperatures around the northern pole. Last year was the hottest on record for the Arctic, with the annual minimum extent of sea ice in the region its second-lowest on record.

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Walrus shortage may have caused collapse of Norse Greenland

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Communities vanished in 15th century after walrus hunted to near extinction, study finds

The mysterious disappearance of Greenland’s medieval Norse society in the 15th century came after walruses were hunted almost to extinction, researchers have said.

Norse communities thrived for more than 400 years in the Arctic, hunting walruses for their tusks, a valuable medieval commodity.

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Greenland’s ice sheet melting seven times faster than in 1990s

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Scale and speed of loss much higher than predicted, threatening inundation for hundreds of millions of people

Greenland’s ice sheet is melting much faster than previously thought, threatening hundreds of millions of people with inundation and bringing some of the irreversible impacts of the climate emergency much closer.

Ice is being lost from Greenland seven times faster than it was in the 1990s, and the scale and speed of ice loss is much higher than was predicted in the comprehensive studies of global climate science by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, according to data.

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Ukraine crisis put on ice by Trump staff busy working out how to buy Greenland

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State and defence departments wanted military aid restored, but the Greenland issue ‘took up a lot of energy’, new testimony reveals

After the White House cut off military aid to Ukraine, Donald Trump’s top officials scrambled to get it restored but were unable to organise a meeting with the president, in part because his staff were too busy pursuing his interest in buying Greenland, according to newly released congressional testimony.

The acting US ambassador to Ukraine, Bill Taylor, told Congress that Trump’s order in mid-July to cut off security assistance triggered a series of high-level meetings with cabinet members on how to get it resumed, given the urgency of the Russian military intervention in eastern Ukraine.

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Trump ‘crazy like a fox’ in suggesting Greenland purchase, says Republican

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Donald Trump was “crazy like a fox” when he floated the idea of buying Greenland because the move would secure vital strategic interests for the US, a leading presidential ally in the Senate insisted on Monday.

Related: Trump’s bid to buy Greenland shows that the ‘scramble for the Arctic’ is truly upon us

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Trump’s bid to buy Greenland shows that the ‘scramble for the Arctic’ is truly upon us

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World powers are racing to exploit the vast untapped resources of the Arctic as global heating opens up a new frontier

Donald Trump’s cack-handed attempt to buy Greenland, and the shirty response of Denmark’s prime minister, provoked amusement last week. But it was mostly nervous laughter. The US intervention shone a cold light on a rapidly developing yet neglected crisis at the top of the world – the pillage of the Arctic.

Like the late 19th-century “scramble for Africa”, when European empires expanded colonial control of the continent’s land mass from 10% to 90% in 40 years, the Arctic region is up for grabs. As was the case then, the race for advantage is nationalistic, dangerously unregulated, and harmful to indigenous peoples and the environment.

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Trump plans to open US consulate in Greenland despite row over offer to buy

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  • State details plan to Senate foreign relations committee
  • President cancelled Denmark visit over notion of purchase

The Trump administration is planning to open a US consulate in Greenland for the first time in decades, amid increased strategic and economic interest in the Danish territory.

Related: Sorry, Mr Trump – Greenland’s no go. But can I interest you in our little island? | Jack Bernhardt

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Did Trump cancel his Denmark visit because Greenland is not for sale? – video report

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The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, says she is 'disappointed and surprised' by the US president's decision to cancel his state visit after she dismissed suggestions of selling Greenland as 'absurd'. Here's a look back at what drew the US president to want to make the ‘large real estate deal’ and the strong reaction to his suggestion

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Danish PM reacts to cancelled Trump visit: ‘preparations were in full swing’ – video

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The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, told journalists she was surprised and disappointed to learn that Donald Trump had cancelled his visit to Denmark after she rejected suggestions of selling Greenland to the US. The US president tweeted his decision after Frederiksen dismissed the notion as absurd

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Danish PM ‘surprised and disappointed’ over cancelled Trump visit

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US president attacks comments as ‘nasty’ after calling off trip because Greenland not for sale

The Danish prime minister has said she is surprised and disappointed that Donald Trump has called off his planned visit to the country over Copenhagen’s refusal to sell Greenland to the US.

At a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Mette Frederiksen reaffirmed that Greenland was not for sale. “A discussion about a potential sale of Greenland has been put forward. It has been rejected by Greenland premier Kim Kielsen, and I fully stand behind that rejection,” she said.

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Greenland highlights Trump’s willingness to offend close US allies

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By cancelling his state visit to Denmark, the US president has again showed his thin skin

Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to cancel his state visit to Denmark after it rejected his unsolicited offer to buy Greenland at a knockdown price took most people by surprise, not least his own ambassador.

“Denmark is ready … Partner, ally, friend”, tweeted Carla Sands, the neophyte US envoy to Copenhagen who was previously an actor and chiropractor. Hours later, it was off.

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Trump tweets image of enormous Trump Tower on Greenland

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US president pledges ‘not to do this’ but residents of the icy island have hardly warmed to his interest

Donald Trump may still want to purchase Greenland – but the US president has no plans to embellish the island’s coast with a Trump Tower.

On Monday night, Trump tweeted an edited photo of a coastal town dotted with colorful homes – all dwarfed by a golden skyscraper bearing the US president’s name.

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What Greenlanders say about Trump’s interest in their country – video report

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Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that he was considering an attempt to buy Greenland. His interest in the largely autonomous Danish territory was met with indignation in both Greenland and Denmark, with the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, echoing the words of her Greenlandic counterpart, Kim Kielsen: ‘Greenland will not be sold.’

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Why does Donald Trump want to buy Greenland?

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The US president’s talk of a ‘large real estate deal’ says a lot about his view of the world

Greenland, and more specifically its purchase by the US, is being actively discussed in Donald Trump’s Oval Office. But what exactly is it that makes one of the world’s most desolate places such an attractive proposition?

For the president, it is the real estate deal of a lifetime, one that would secure a land mass a quarter the size of the US and cement his place in US history alongside President Andrew Johnson, who bought Alaska from Russia in 1867, and Thomas Jefferson, who secured Louisiana from the French in 1803.

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