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  Antarctic sea-ice at 'mind-blowing' low alarms experts By Georgina Rannard, Becky Dale and Erwan Rivault BBC News Climate & Science and Data Journalism Team   The sea-ice surrounding Antarctica is well below any previous recorded winter level, satellite data shows, a worrying new benchmark for a region that once seemed resistant to global warming.   "It's so far outside anything we've seen, it's almost mind-blowing," says Walter Meier, who monitors sea-ice with the National Snow and Ice Data Center.   An unstable Antarctica could have far-reaching consequences, polar experts warn.   Antarctica's huge ice expanse regulates the planet's temperature, as the white surface reflects the Sun's energy back into the atmosphere and also cools the water beneath and near it.   Without its ice cooling the planet, Antarctica could transform from Earth's refrigerator to a radiator, experts say.   The ice that floats on the An...

  Is climate change accelerating and is it worse than we expected?   16 August 2023,  By Michael Le Page With temperature records tumbling, it is only natural to worry about cascading tipping points, but the reality is far more nuanced     Unprecedented bouts of extreme weather and related events around the world raise the question of whether climate scientists have underestimated how fast the world is warming and how severe the consequences will be. Here are the key facts you need to know.   Is the world warming faster than we expected? What made July 2023 the hottest month ever recorded? Extreme weather and temperatures made July 2023 a shocking month, with human-driven global warming, the El Niño climate pattern and perhaps even a 2022 volcanic eruption contributing to the broken records   Data source: ERA5. Credit: Copernicus Climate Change Service/ECMWF July 2023 was the hottest month on record, the European Centre for Medium-Range...