Arctic Sea Ice Concentration for SSP5-8.5

For the pessimistic scenario SSP 5-8.5 ("No further climate protection measures"), the simulation with MPI-ESM HR shows a significant and rapid decrease in sea ice cover in the Arctic. In summer (September), sea ice would be expected to melt completely (disappearing white area) from about 2060. In winter (March), however, as the light blue area shows, new ice would form again - albeit to a reduced extent.

Video: Temporal evolution of Arctic sea ice cover in September (white) and in March (light blue) for the pessimistic scenario SSP5-8.5 based on the simulation with MPI-ESM HR. With this model only one realization was calculated for SSP5-8.5, therefore the visualization shows a large variability from year to year.