Satellite images show major snow cover meltdown on the Antarctic Island within 10 days

Antarctica on February 13 witnessed the hottest day in its history with temperatures rising up to 20.75 degrees Celsius, international media reported. In a recent development, new satellite images have surfaced revealing that 20 per cent of snow cover on an Antarctic island melted in just 10 days owing to record-breaking warm temperatures. The shots of the ice cap on Eagle Island were captured by the 'Operational Land Imager' on the Landsat 8 satellite on February 4 and February 13, 2020, and they showed melted ponds appearing.

Read: UN: Antarctic High Temp Records Will Take Months To Verify

Read: Antarctica Records Hottest Temperature Ever, Experts Say 'planet In Trouble'

Talking about the issue to international media, Glaciologist Mauri Pelto of Nichols College in Massachusetts said that she has never seen melt ponds develop this quickly in Antarctica. She further said that these kind of melt events are common in Alaska and Greenland, but not in Antarctica.

Image Credits: NASA

The scientists recorded the highest temperature of 20.75 degrees Celsius (69.35 Fahrenheit) in Antarctica on February 13, breaking its own previous record. As per researchers, the fact that the icy continent is now recording higher temperatures is likely to fuel fears of global warming on the planet. Earlier on Saturday, the Esperanza base in the northern tip of Antarctic peninsula had recorded a temperature of 18.3 degree Celsius. 

Read: Antarctica Appears To Have Broken A Heat Record

Read: 2 Germans Killed In Avalanche On Norway's Arctic Svalbard

Antarctic Peninsula is amongst the fastest-warming regions

According to the World Meteorological Department (WMO), the Antarctic peninsula is amongst the fastest-warming regions of the planet. Further, they reportedly said that the rising temperature figure is not something that would be normal in Antarctica, not even in summers.

Earlier this month, scientists made yet another alarming discovery - 'warm' water under the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica. According to international media reports, scientists recorded water temperatures at 2 degrees Celsius in the usually frigid environment of Antarctica, marking a first of its kind. 

Read: Antarctica Records Hottest Temperature Ever, Experts Say 'planet In Trouble'

Meanwhile, the Esperanza base in the northern tip of Antarctic peninsula recorded a temperature of 18.3 degree Celsius, the highest ever on record, the World Meteorological Departement said on February 8. Speaking in Geneva, WMO spokesman Clare Nullis on Friday reportedly said it wasn’t a figure that would be normal in Antarctica, not even in summers. It has beaten the previous 17.5 degrees Celsius which itself was a setback back in 2015.

Image Credits: NASA