CLIMATE CHANGE

Arctic Ice Level Nears Record Low

Wildlife suffering as a result.

Where will all the polar bears go? Arctic ice has melted to a near-record low, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado. A particularly hot summer up north combined with the Earth’s increasingly warm temperatures over the past 10 years is wreaking havoc on wildlife in the Arctic Ocean. Experts know the ice will of course freeze over again in fall and winter, but less ice has been building back up each year. “The ice is so thin now that it just can’t take a hit in summer anymore,” said the head of the center. He added that walruses are losing their ice floes, which they use as flotation devices, and are stranded ashore in Alaska.