Antarctic Peninsula Sees “Unusual” Warming Temperatures; Human-Induced Warming and Natural Causes Are to Blame, Says Scientist

Temperatures of the Antarctic Peninsula are reported to be rising in an "unusual" rate, although it might have been expected.

Scientists have said the temperature of the peninsula have naturally rose over the last 600 years and is warming at a rate of 4.7 degrees Fahrenheit per century.

"By the time the unusual recent warming began, the Antarctic Peninsula ice shelves were already poised for the dramatic break-ups observed from the 1990s onwards," said the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), which led the study published in the journal Nature.

In recent years, the ice of the peninsula have been melting in an alarming rate, with icebergs collapsing, notably one that is the size of Manhattan. The scientists added that 9,500 square miles of ice have been lost, roughly the size of Haiti.

"What we are seeing is consistent with a human-induced warming, on top of a natural one," said lead author from the BAS Robert Mulvaney.

According to LiveScience, Mulvaney said, temperatures in the region were last seen 12,000 years ago.

The scientists experimented with a 1,200 foot ice core from the northern tip of the peninsula. Chemicals found in the ice helped scientists track the temperature changes from the last 15,000 years, when the ice age was coming to an end.

Speaking to Reuters, Mulvaney added the study took place on one "small part" of Antarctica.

Interestingly, the loss of ice has not affect sea levels, as seen in the melted ice in Greenland, due in part of the ice already is part of the ocean.