As the polar ice caps are melting, they affect many aspects of life on Earth. The effects they have had thus far are wide spread especially to the native people, wildlife and plants of the Arctic. The native people of the Arctic have already experienced effects of the melting of the polar ice caps when the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf splintered and the freshwater lake it enclosed drained into the ocean.
The melting of the Arctic ice cap is accelerating global warming. Rising temperatures are a result of the protective, cooling layer over the Arctic melting allowing the Earth to absorb more sunlight. Melting ice caps contribute to rising sea levels, threatening low-lying areas causing beach erosion, coastal flooding and contamination of freshwater supplies. Low lying islands are also at risk for being completely covered.
The melting of the Arctic ice cap would also affect food production that requires particular temperatures for certain crops to grow.
