When we hear the word “climate crisis”, we usually imagine a polar bear precariously clinging to a shrinking ice floe. We all know that the ice caps in the Arctic are melting at an alarming rate. But the Arctic isn't the only place in danger. The glaciers in Antarctica are also shrinking.

Antarctica's glaciers, formed about 250 million years ago, began to rapidly decline in the 1980s. Since the Industrial Revolution, the average global temperature has risen, causing even Antarctica, which was once thought to be eternally frozen, to melt. The rate of Antarctic glacier loss has accelerated in the 21st century, with experts saying it is now three times faster than it was in the 1990s.

Antarctic glaciers fluctuate in size throughout the year depending on the season. However, as seen in a graph published by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), a division of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the average area in 2022 was smaller than the average area from 1981 to 2010, and the average area of Antarctic glaciers in 2023 was smaller than in 2022. If Antarctic glaciers continue to decline in this way, it could lead to rising sea levels around Antarctica, as well as a global rise in sea levels, resulting in the flooding of some areas. Furthermore, the melting of polar glaciers with low salinity could disrupt the global ocean current circulation.

The creatures living in Antarctica are the first to suffer when the glaciers there melt. Among them, Emperor penguins, the iconic animals of Antarctica, have lost about 10,000 chicks due to the shrinking ice. The melting glaciers have reduced the penguins' habitat, and many chicks have drowned in the ocean because they have not grown their waterproof feathers, which are essential for swimming in the sea, before the glaciers melt.

Microplastics have also been found in the snow that falls in Antarctica. Researchers at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand have discovered microplastic fragments in 19 locations in Antarctica. They say that microplastics can travel from areas as far as 6,000 km away from Antarctica. White snow and ice reflect most sunlight, but the dark-colored microplastics mixed in with the snow can reduce reflectivity, leading to faster melting of the glaciers.

It has also been reported that rain has fallen in Antarctica, not snow. In June and July 2023, several reports of rain, not snow, were made at an Antarctic research station. This is shocking, as it was winter in Antarctica, a time when blizzards should be blowing.

In response to these alarming changes in Antarctica, Greenpeace, an international environmental organization, is campaigning to designate more than 30% of the Southern Ocean as a marine protected area. However, efforts to establish a protected area in the Antarctic Ocean are constantly being thwarted, as countries prioritize their economic interests over the protection of the Antarctic seas. In October 2023, negotiations on the designation were thwarted by the opposition of some member states, including China, Russia, and Ukraine. It is hoped that the designation will be approved at the next round of negotiations, scheduled to take place in 2024.

We hope that the international community will no longer prioritize its own interests over the protection of the environment.