Polar Ice Melted at Record Pace in July

But more shipping channels are open!

Polar ice appears to be joining Nunavut's polar bear plates, as there was less Arctic sea ice at the end of this July than in any other July since satellites began tracking the melt. The U.S.-based National Snow and Ice Data Center released a study showing that there was about 210,000 sq. km less ice cover this July than there was in 2007, the previous record low. Worst of all, a good chunk of that ice was of the old and thick variety, which takes centuries to be restored. On the other hand, though, the melting ice has greatly opened up shipping channels through the Arctic Ocean, with the Northwest Passage in particular likely set to be reopened once again before the year's out. Catastrophic environmental losses aren't all terrible, right?