Earth’s ice is melting 57 percent faster than in the 1990s and that the world has lost more than 28 trillion tons of ice since 1994, research published yesterday in The Cryosphere shows. “It was a surprise to see such a large increase in just 30 years,” said Thomas Slater, a study co-author. There have been huge efforts to study ice loss research in individual regions of the world, allowing the researchers to combine data to assess ice loss worldwide. Their findings show that Arctic ice is disappearing the fastest, with 7.6 trillion tons melting between 1994 to 2017.

The report also found land ice melt alone contributed to a global average sea level rise of 3.5 centimeters. However, land ice is only a small portion of the world’s ice. Sea ice shelves, which float on water, are disappearing quickly, and if they collapse, sea level rise could accelerate for centuries. (E&E $, Reuters, InsideClimate News, Mother Jones, Earther, The Hill)