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The recent collapse of a 1,100km² ice shelf in Antarctica came at a time of record high temperatures and is a symptom of a planet in climate crisis, experts say.  

The Conger ice shelf, which cleaved away from the eastern side of Antarctica in March, is the latest victim of rising temperatures at the Earth’s poles. Experts say as the polar regions warm, more ice is likely to melt, potentially pushing up sea levels and inundating coastal communities.

"The current concentration of greenhouse gases is higher than at any time in human history. It’s a very worrying signal," said Pascal Peduzzi, Director of the Global Resource Information Database (GRID) - Geneva. GRID-Geneva is a partnership between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment and the University of Geneva.

The temperature at Vostok Weather Station in the central part of Antarctica in March normally averages -53°C. But between March 16 and March 20, around the time the ice shelf is believed to have collapsed, the temperature was on average 35°C warmer,  hitting a balmy-for-Antarctica -18°C on March 17. The heat wave is part of a warming trend being recorded globally.