Antarctica: It’s scary to know that the icy continent of Antarctica is turning green at an alarming rate due to global warming.
According to satellite data, the green cove
r of Antarctica was almost 12 square kilometre in 2021, whereas in 1986 it was less than 1 sq km!
Researchers found that the spread of plants, mostly mosses, has increased since 2016.
The accelerated growth of green cover on a continent dominated by ice and bare rock shows that Antarctica is warming faster than the global average.
Scientists have also warned that this condition can provide a foothold for alien invasive species in the continent.
“The Antarctic landscape is still almost entirely dominated by snow, ice and rock, with only a tiny fraction colonised by plant life. But that tiny fraction has grown dramatically – showing that even this vast and isolated wilderness is being affected by human-caused climate change,” said University of Exeter, UK’s Dr Thomas Roland, who co-led the study.