The Arctic is the area around the North Pole. It is a vast ocean covered with ice and surrounded by treeless, frozen ground. The Arctic region is one of the last remaining areas of unspoilt nature.

The Arctic is full of arganisms  living in the ice: fish and marine mammals, birds, and land animals, besides human sattlements. Its biological diversity is very valuable to us. The natural resources include oil, gas, minerals, and fish.

The Arctic region is very sensitive to changes in the climate. Thus it acts as an early warning system for the earth. In fact, it is now giving us major warning: the Arctic ice is melting incredibly fast!

The North pole has been frozen for 100,000 years. That will, however, not be true by the end of the 21st century! During the past 15 years, more than 400,000 sq km of ice has melted away. summer temperatures are higher than ever. As snow and ice melt, they expose land and water that absorb more solar heat. That melts more snow and ice, and so it goes on.

Arctic snow and ice play a key role in controlling the planet’s temperature. They act as insulation, keeping heat and moisture in the land and ocean and out of the atmosphere. But once the ice and snow are gone, the climate will changein ways that we cannot even predict.

Warming of the ocean and melting of ice will lead to sea level rise, which will submerge small islands and cause enormous damage to many coastal areas. Scientists also predict severe storms and hurricanes.

During the last decade, more than 400,000sq km of ice has melted away.

The year 2005 saw many unusual weather patterns in the world, including hurricanes like katrinain US and heavy rains in India.

Scientists are clear that the ice is melting due to global warming. such arming occurs because the burning of oil and coal leads to ever increasing amounts of gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Yet, we are not talking adequate steps to reduce such emmissions. Meanwhile, time is running out!