The Antarctic ice sheet is melting. And this is bad news for humanity

If left unchecked, the complete melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet would cause a global sea level increase of 3.3 metres in the distant future. (Shutterstock)

Ottawa’s famous Rideau Canal, which turns into the world’s largest ice rink every winter, is too thin to open this winter.

Antarctic sea ice concentration reached a record low on Feb. 13. The orange line represents the median sea ice extent for that day considering the period 1981-2010. (National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder), Author provided