Alarming footage shows a four-mile-long iceberg breaking off a glacier in Greenland in the latest example of the devastating effects of climate change.
It comes as scientists warn global warming could be even more disastrous than previously thought, bringing “unstoppable” sea level rises and scorching rain forests.
Researchers from New York University filmed the massive sheet of ice breaking off the Helheim Glacier over 30 minutes on June 22, then sped it up to just 90 seconds.
It’s difficult to get a sense of scale but they claimed the iceberg was large enough to cover half the island of Manhattan.
Lead researcher David Holland said: “Global sea-level rise is both undeniable and consequential. By capturing how it unfolds, we can see, first-hand, its breath-taking significance.”
The phenomenon is known as calving, the breaking off of large blocks of ice from a glacier.
And it could help scientists predict global sea level rise, according to Denise Holland, the logistics coordinator for NYU’s Environmental Fluid Dynamics Laboratory.
She said: “The better we understand what’s going on means we can create more accurate simulations to help predict and plan for climate change.”
In 2017, experts predicted the collapse of the entire Western Antarctic Ice Sheet would result in a 10-foot-rise in sea level.
This would be enough to overwhelm coastal areas around the globe, including New York City.
More recently, another study has claimed the world is warming “much faster than anything encountered in Earth’s history.”
The impact could see the largest desert in the world turn lush green as the rise in temperature causes the rain belt surrounding Earth to swell.
According to the study conducted by researchers from 17 countries and published by Geoscience, there could be a 20-foot rise in sea level, leading to mass flooding.
Ice caps will also collapse and the edges of tropical forests will be ravaged by fires due to “significant changes in ecosystems,” the experts claim.
Co-author Katrin Meissner, of the University of New South Wales in Australia, warned: “In terms of rate of change, we are in uncharted waters.”
