https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3kx89w/the-bizarre-weather-science-behind-greenlands-record-melting > Over the last week, Greenland shed more than 60 billion tons of ice as a heat wave enveloped the Arctic island, triggering melting on a scale not seen since 2012. From July 31 to August 1, the ice sheet lost enough weight to cover the state of Florida in nearly 5 inches of water. At the height of the melt event, rates of ice loss approached levels scientists had not expected to see until the late 21st century. > But thanks to a double whammy of natural atmospheric circulation patterns and human-caused climate change, a growing body of research indicates that more mega melts like this could be in Greenland’s future.