logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2023
27m 27s

Why does it matter that Greenland is mel...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Greenland is an island covered in a sheet of ice that is over 3km thick in places, containing 7.4 metres of average global sea level rise. Due to climate change, it’s melting at an astonishing rate. We meet some of the people being forced to rapidly adapt their traditional ways of life. And find out why ice loss means sea level rises for elsewhere in the world – but the opposite for the island itself

Joining presenter Graihagh Jackson are: • Mads Malik Fuglsang Holm, reporter in Greenland • Twila Moon, deputy lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Centre, University of Colorado, USA

Email us : theclimatequestion@bbc.com

Producer: Ben Cooper Series Producers: Simon Watts and Alex Lewis Editor: China Collins Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford, Sophie Hill and Jacqui Johnson

Up next
Nov 8
Why does climate change hit women harder?
Our changing climate affects all genders - with extreme weather events, heat, drought and flooding putting pressure on the lives and wellbeing of entire communities. Yet the United Nations says that women and girls bear a disproportionate share of the burden and that by 2050, cli ... Show More
22m 59s
Nov 1
AMOC: How the changing Atlantic could reshape our world
The system of ocean currents known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation or AMOC plays a crucial role in the global climate, helping to keep Europe relatively mild and to circulate vital nutrients for marine life.But scientists are worried that the AMOC system might ... Show More
23m 36s
Oct 25
How could climate change affect my health?
Climate change is having major health impacts around the world, which are only expected to increase as our planet gets warmer. These impacts range from heat stroke to the spread of tropical diseases, from hospitals losing power during extreme weather to the effect on our mental h ... Show More
26m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2020
Trouble in Greenland
Has the loss from Greenland’s vast ice sheet reached a tipping point? According to glaciologist Michalea King, the rate at which its ice flows into the sea stepped up about 15 years ago. The process of glacial retreat is outpacing the accumulation snow and ice in Greenland’s inte ... Show More
32m 24s
Jul 2023
Melting of Greenland ice sheet
Record-breaking global temperatures are accelerating Greenland ice melt at an alarming rate. Professor of glaciology Alun Hubbard has witnessed the melt first hand. He tells us how the ice sheet is being destabilised and what this could mean on a human level. Also, how safe are J ... Show More
26m 34s
Jan 2023
How Glaciers Move
There's always a moment of intense isolation when Jessica Mejía gets dropped off on the Greenland ice sheet for a multi-week research stint. "You know you're very much alone," said Jessica, a postdoctoral researcher in glaciology at the University of Buffalo. Glaciers such as tho ... Show More
13m 50s
Dec 2023
How Glaciers Move — And Affect Sea Level Rise
Glaciers like the ones in Greenland are melting due to climate change, causing global sea levels to rise. That we know. But these glaciers are also moving. What we don't know is just how these two processes – melting and movement – interact and ultimately impact how quickly sea l ... Show More
13m 41s
Sep 2024
Into the abyss beneath Greenland’s glaciers
Environment editor Damian Carrington tells Madeleine Finlay about his recent trip to Greenland on board a ship with a group of intrepid scientists. They were on a mission to explore the maelstrom beneath Greenland’s glaciers, an area that has never been studied before, and were h ... Show More
15m 58s
Jul 2025
Greenland’s Ice Sheet Is at Risk—And So Are We
Chief multimedia editor Jeffery DelViscio ventured to Greenland for a month to learn from the scientists studying the country’s ice sheet. He speaks with host Rachel Feltman about his time in the field and his takeaways from conversations with climate scientists. This story was s ... Show More
22m 5s
Jul 2025
Greenland’s Ice Sheet Is at Risk—And So Are We
Chief multimedia editor Jeffery DelViscio ventured to Greenland for a month to learn from the scientists studying the country’s ice sheet. He speaks with host Rachel Feltman about his time in the field and his takeaways from conversations with climate scientists. This story was s ... Show More
22m 5s
Jan 2023
Game changers
Nations are racing to protect 30% of the planet by 2030 in an attempt to halt biodiversity loss, but one novel approach may be able to safeguard species under threat of imminent extinction. Vic visited Nature’s Safe in May, a cryogenic biobank, storing the genetic information of ... Show More
28m 18s
Aug 2023
Antarctic ice melting
Ice the size of Greenland is missing from Antarctica because of climate change. 
6m 28s
May 2025
Could Freezing Arctic Sea Ice Combat Climate Change?
The year-round sea ice in the Arctic is melting and has shrunk by nearly 40 percent over the past four decades. Geoengineering companies such as Real Ice are betting big on refreezing it. That may sound ridiculous, impractical or risky—but proponents say we have to try. The U.K. ... Show More
25m 29s