A study by NASA has attributed the rapid melting of Arctic Ice to the interactions between cloud formation in the Arctic region and frozen Arctic Water.
The study says that the release of more heat and moisture through the large hole in known as Polynya (A polynya is an area of open water surrounded by sea ice in the arctic) leads to the formation of more clouds, trapping heat in the atmosphere. It results in delayed refreezing and higher rate of melting of arctic ice.
The low clouds formed over the polynya emitted more heat than clouds in adjacent areas covered by sea ice. The extra clouds and increased cloud radiative effect to the surface remained persistent even after the refreezing of Polynya, which slows down the growth of the sea ice.
Rate of melting of Ice in the Arctic: Arctic sea ice has declined at a rate of almost 13 per cent per decade in the last 30 years; the oldest and thickest ice in the Arctic has declined by 95 per cent, according to another study by NASA.
