00:00Did you know the coldest place on Earth is showing signs of melting faster than we thought?
00:04A groundbreaking study has revealed that surface meltwater in East Antarctica is growing,
00:09and that's a big red flag for rising sea levels.
00:12Using over 133,000 satellite images,
00:15researchers created the first high-resolution monthly map of meltwater
00:19across the entire Antarctic continent.
00:22And what they found is alarming.
00:24Each melt season now sees meltwater covering an area twice the size of Greater London.
00:28East Antarctica was once thought too cold to worry about,
00:32but this research proves otherwise.
00:34The ice sheet surface is becoming more vulnerable to meltwater ponding,
00:38and that's dangerous.
00:40Why?
00:40Because meltwater can crack and collapse floating ice shelves,
00:44and when that happens, grounded ice flows freely into the ocean,
00:48raising sea levels globally.
00:50If all the water locked in Antarctica's ice melted,
00:53sea levels would rise by a staggering 58 meters.
00:55And due to gravity's pull,
00:58the UK and Northern Hemisphere could be hit even harder.
01:01Scientists warn it's time to rethink how we protect our future,
01:05because what happens in Antarctica doesn't stay in Antarctica.
01:07What happens in Antarctica?
01:08What happens in Antarctica?
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