Antarctica lost 7.5tn tons of ice since 1997 – study

More than 40 percent of Antarctica’s ice shelves have significantly shrunk over the past 25 years, according to a study published in the Journal Science Advances on Thursday.

The melting saw 67 trillion tons of ice was lost in the west while 59 trillion tons was added to the east between 1997 and 2021 – resulting in a net loss of 7.5 trillion tons, scientists at the University of Leeds calculated.

“The western half is exposed to warm water, which can rapidly erode the ice shelves from below, whereas much of east Antarctica is currently protected from nearby warm water by a band of cold water at the coast.”