In a bizarre incident, a giant iceberg has drifted to the shores of a Canadian island, Newfoundland, a remarkable event that left the netizens astonished and prompting a whole sea of responses on X (formerly Twitter).
Shared by a X user @SpriterTeam, the one-minute video, being shot in July 2023, showed the huge iceberg approaching the Canadian mainland. Since being shared on Tuesday, the video has garnered over 9.3 million views and over 1.16 lakh likes. Other users also thronged the social media giant sharing the videos of the massive ice block floating dangerously close to the coast.
Some netizens enjoyed the sight while others expressed concerns over climate change. "Welcome to the Anthropocene," commented a X user. "Amy Adams has been dispatched to communicate with it," commented another.
{{/usCountry}}Some netizens enjoyed the sight while others expressed concerns over climate change. "Welcome to the Anthropocene," commented a X user. "Amy Adams has been dispatched to communicate with it," commented another.
{{/usCountry}}It is believed that these incidents are becoming more common now because of the climate crisis and the overall threat to the Earth’s ice caps.
As per the news 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. Ocean currents cause the ice blocks to drift off the coast of Newfoundland. However, it is difficult for one the size of Alley to do so, which is why it amazed the most.
According to a report by Huffpost, around 90% of world's icebergs are old parts of Greenland’s glaciers while the rest come from Canada’s Arctic. They break away due to rising temperatures, although the behemoths normally only last a few months.
According to a 2019 study published in the Proceedings of the US National Academy of Sciences, Greenland’s glaciers are melting at a rate four times faster than previously estimated, underscoring the urgency of addressing climate change. to preserve this natural wonder. while the US Coast Guard and International Ice Patrol (an organisation set up after the Titanic incident in 1912) in July 2023, estimated that there are 2,065 icebergs north of the Labrador region and all in open water.
An iceberg is a piece of glacier (soil and snow accumulated over thousands of years) that has broken off and slipped into the ocean to continue floating, sailing, and then gradually melting; most do not last more than a year.