A gigantic iceberg has sailed near the shores of the Canadian island of Newfoundland, prompting a number of surprised and concerned reactions on social media.
As per media reports, Newfoundland has a reputation for iceberg chasing, where people try to see massive blocks of ice coming along the area known as 'Iceberg Alley' located in a stream of water near the eastern province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
After the iceberg was sighted approaching Canadian mainland, many videos flooded Twitter, with some netizens enjoying the sight while others expressed concerns over climate change. "Welcome to the Anthropocene," commented a Twitter user.
Nearly 90% of all icebergs in the world emanate every year either from the glaciers at Greenland and the rest come from Canada's Arctic. They break away due to rising temperatures and last for a few months.
The largest iceberg was seen moving towards South Georgia Island in 2021, estimated at 135 km in length and 25 km wide. These icebergs are now more commonly seen due to climate change, which has accelerated the melting of the earth's ice caps.
As per a study in 2019 by the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the deglaciation of Greenland was occurring four times faster than expected due to both oceanic and atmospheric forcings, predicting it to be a major contributor in sea level rise.
The US Coast Guard and the International Ice Patrol said that as many as 2,265 icebergs near the Labrador region and that 2023 is the first year since 2019 to be more severe than 'light' iceberg extent.
