---
title: "Humans Aren’t Solely to Blame for Arctic Ice Melt, Says Report"
description: "Roughly half the Arctic ice melt that's occurred over the past 37 years is due to natural variables, according to a new study."
date: "2018-11-07"
modified: "2018-11-07"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/arctic-ice-melt-causes"
categories:
  - "Climate Change"
  - "Environment"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "arctic"
  - "climate change"
  - "ice melt"
---

# Humans Aren’t Solely to Blame for Arctic Ice Melt, Says Report

![Roughly half the Arctic ice melt that's occurred over the past 37 years is due to natural variables, according to a new study.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/arctic-ice-melt-causes.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/92144/when-land-ice-meets-sea-ice" target="\_blank"\>NASA Goddard Space Flight Cente\</a\>\</em\>*

## Shared Blame

Humans deserve most of the blame for the environmental changes happening on Earth, but not all of it.

According to a new [study](<https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-018-0256-8#author-information>), one major effect of climate change — Arctic ice melt — is due to a combination of human activity and natural climate fluctuations. In fact, the experts behind this study attribute up to [50 percent](<https://www.llnl.gov/news/models-show-natural-swings-earth%E2%80%99s-climate-contribute-arctic-sea-ice-loss>) of the ice lost in the past 37 years to natural climate variables.

## Patterns in the Noise

Prior to this study, which was published in *Nature Geoscience* on November 5, researchers weren't sure just how large a role natural factors played in Arctic ice loss — estimates ranged from 20 percent up to 50 percent.

To hone in on a more accurate estimate, researchers from several U.S. universities and government agencies analyzed climate model simulations looking for patterns between Arctic ice melt and anthropogenic (human-caused) and internal (natural) variables.

That pattern-matching technique led them to conclude that natural variables caused between 40 and 50 percent of the ice loss.

## Thin Ice

According to [NASA's calculations](<https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2811/2018-arctic-summertime-sea-ice-minimum-extent-tied-for-sixth-lowest-on-record/>), we've lost about 21,000 square miles of sea ice annually since 1979. That's an area roughly the size of Maryland and New Jersey *every year*.

Knowing that humans aren't responsible for all this ice loss might make us feel a bit less guilty. But it shouldn't stop us from trying to do something about the issue.

[Arctic ice melt](<https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/10/17339046/arctic-sea-ice-decline-albedo-effect-climate-change-global-warming>) affects the [entire world](<https://futurism.com/loss-arctic-sea-ice-affect-millions>), contributing to rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and global warming. So we need to make slowing it down a top priority — even if we aren't solely to blame for it.

**READ MORE:** [Models Show Natural Swings in the Earth’s Climate Contribute to Arctic Sea Ice Loss](<https://www.llnl.gov/news/models-show-natural-swings-earth%E2%80%99s-climate-contribute-arctic-sea-ice-loss>) \[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory\]

***More on Arctic ice melt: [The Loss of Arctic Sea Ice Cover Could Affect Millions Worldwide](<https://futurism.com/loss-arctic-sea-ice-affect-millions>)***

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)