The impact of melting polar glaciers on animals and plants at both levels

Marine mammals, seabirds and other animals in both polar regions rely on finding food at the edges of the ice sheets. In northern Canada, starvation and weight loss in polar bears related to changes in the ice sheet have been reported.

In Antarctica, the disappearance of sea ice is accompanied by rising temperatures and increased precipitation, which is changing the habits and hunting and breeding methods of penguins and seals. As the Arctic ice cap retreats northward, polar bears lose large tracts of ice floes on which to hunt, and are forced to venture to places where humans live to hunt. Without stable ice, many seals have to climb onto unfamiliar land to give birth. Salmon swim to the Arctic Ocean and robins appear in the Arctic Circle. These are the effects of global warming on the Arctic.

Due to the melting of glaciers and ice sheets, many microorganisms buried in the ice sheets hundreds of years to tens of thousands of years ago are exposed. The spread of these microorganisms may affect human health. As the melting of ice changes the global ecological balance, the living environment of some animals and plants is destroyed, leading to biological migration and extinction. All these will pose a threat to the human living environment.