Antarctica Not Melting: Ice Levels At Record High

Far from disappearing, Antarctic ice levels reached a record high on Sept. 22. Climate alarmists are now being forced to reconcile this evidence with their unquestioning belief in global warming.

The Washington Post’s Jason Samenow reported the National Snow and Ice Data Center’s findings that Antarctic ice had reached record levels [1]. The previous record was set in 2012.

In the same article, Jinlun Zhang, a University of Washington climate scientist, simply could not understand how this was possible: “Why would sea ice be increasing?” Despite this, Zhang contended that “[t]he overwhelming evidence is that the Southern Ocean is warming.”

The rising Antarctic ice levels must have come as a shock to former Vice President Al Gore who blamed Antarctic ice melting on global warming in his 2006 book “An Inconvenient Truth.” Gore quoted scientist John Mercer: “One of the warning signs that a dangerous warming trend is underway in Antarctica will be the breakup of ice shelves on both coasts of the Antarctic peninsula.”

Despite this increase in Antarctic sea ice, the media continue to hype climate change and its effects on the South Pole. On Nov. 6, CBS “Evening News” ran a story highlighting rising carbon dioxide levels in Antarctica. Correspondent John Blackstone stated that Antarctic “CO₂ levels have continued the steady rise that began in 1958,” asserting that “high levels of carbon dioxide can create a warming blanket around the Earth.”

But if the Antarctic is suffering from rising CO₂ levels and global warming, how can it be simultaneously gaining ice?

Climate scientists tried to explain away this glaring paradox. Zhang argued that stronger Antarctic winds are to blame, although he admitted “I haven’t seen a clear explanation yet of why the winds have gotten stronger.” Other scientists have pointed to ozone depletion, but a recent study [2] in the Journal of Climate argued that ozone depletion would reduce sea ice levels.

Of course, the obvious answer is that Antarctic temperatures aren’t actually rising. On June 10, the New York Times reported [3] that “[t]he rise in the surface temperature of the earth has been markedly slower over the last 15 years than in the 20 years before that. And that lull in warming has occurred even as greenhouse gases have accumulated in the atmosphere at a record pace.”

The broadcast networks paid no attention [4] to this lull, instead repeatedly promoting climate change alarmism. CBS correspondent Mark Phillips acknowledged that global temperatures were not rising, but dismissed this fact [5] as “ammunition” for climate skeptics on Sept. 26’s “Evening News,” saying that “another inconvenient truth has emerged on the way to the apocalypse.”