PIES 27 April -1 May: The Artic : Losing its cool

Antarctica is getting warmer rather than cooling as widely believed, according to a study that fits the icy continent into a trend of global warming.
A review by U.S. scientists of satellite and weather records for Antarctica, which contains 90 percent of the world's ice and would raise world sea levels if it thaws, showed that freezing temperatures had risen by about 0.5 Celsius (0.8 Fahrenheit) since the 1950s.
The Arctic is warming up faster than any other region. Because it plays a vital role in cooling the rest of the globe, the effects of this warming will be felt worldwide, not just on remote tundra.
Today, one cannot venture far enough north to escape global warming. The region has heated up nearly twice as fast as the rest of the globe over the past 50 years, according to a 2004 study assessing climate change in the Arctic.
Land-based ice such as glaciers, ice sheets and permafrost and floating ice are vanishing, and the ongoing thaw has profound ramifications for the rest of the world.

WORD LIST
1. believed
2. continent
3. trend
4. freezing
5. risen
6. vital
7. effects
8. tundra
9. region
10. heated
11. glaciers
12. permafrost
13. floating
14. vanishing
15. profound

ENRICHMENT LIST
1. thaws
2. remote
3. venture
4. assessing
5. ramification