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According to Danish researchers, the Greenland ice sheet experienced a "massive melting" during a heat wave, as a result of which the temperature was more than 10 degrees above seasonal norms.

Since Wednesday, the ice sheet covering the vast Arctic territory has been melting by about eight billion tons per day, which is twice the average norm in the summer, according to the website Polar Portal, which is run by Danish researchers.

The Danish Meteorological Institute reported that in the north of Greenland, the temperature exceeds 20 degrees Celsius, which is more than twice the normal average summer temperature for this region.

And at the Nerlerit Inaat airport in the north-east of the territory, 23.4 degrees were recorded on Thursday, which was the highest indicator since the beginning of observations.

The largest melting of the Greenland ice sheet still refers to the summer of 2019. But the area where the melting occurred this time is larger than two years ago.

The Greenland Ice Sheet is the second largest mass of freshwater ice on the planet. With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometers, it is second only to Antarctica.

The melting of the ice sheets began in 1990 and accelerated since 2000. The mass loss in recent years is about four times greater than it was before 2000, scientists from the Polar Portal say.

If the Greenland ice sheet completely melts, the ocean level will rise by six to seven meters.

But with a relatively cool start to summer in Greenland, with snowfalls and rains, the retreat of the ice sheet in 2021 remains within the historical norm, according to the Polar Portal. The melting period lasts from June to the beginning of September.

ab-news.ru