Science

Global warming may have halted an emerging ice age, study suggests

Source: Phys.org · Published 22 Oct 2026, 18:00

Two thousand years ago, the Arctic remnants of a once-vast ice sheet started to grow again. It was the beginning of a new glacial period, more conversationally known as the next ice age—but by the 1960s, summer temperatures were already so high that the ice sheet started to shrink. In other words, global warming ended a period of glaciation that had already begun.

Key points

Two thousand years ago, the Arctic remnants of a once-vast ice sheet started to grow again.
It was the beginning of a new glacial period, more conversationally known as the next ice age—but by the 1960s, summer temperatures were already so high that the ice sheet started to shrink.
In other words, global warming ended a period of glaciation that had already begun.

Global warming may have halted an emerging ice age, study suggests

Key points

Related stories