From the moment you open your eyes in the morning, you can feel sweat (汗水) running down your body, even if you're barely moving at all. That's what most people in China felt like this summer. In fact, the entire northern hemisphere (半球) saw high temperatures in July. The Arctic Circle (北极圈) was no exception (例外). Temperatures in the city of Norilsk, which is in the Arctic Circle, reached a record high of 32℃, The Atlantic reported. Temperatures there are usually just 10℃ at this time of the year.
The heat wave in the Arctic is mainly a long-term result of global warming, according to the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences. In fact, while the whole world is getting warmer, the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet. This is called the polar amplification effect (极地放大效应).
The most direct impact (影响) of Arctic warming is the melting of Arctic ice. According to NASA, Arctic sea ice is now disappearing at a rate of 13.2 percent every 10 years. NASA said that if this continues, the Arctic will have no ice by the year 2040. This has put some Arctic animals, like polar bears, in danger. The ice that the bears live on has shrunk (缩小), the Toronto Star reported.
Melting ice can also cause sea levels to rise in the long term. Since 1993, sea levels have risen at a rate of 3.2 cm every 10 years, the Guardian reported. Some countries, such as Tuvalu (图瓦卢) in the South Pacific Ocean and Maldives (马尔代夫) in the Indian Ocean, are at risk of disappearing into the sea.
