Bursts of sunlight sent citizens of Ilulissat, Greenland into a panic earlier this month. Because of their location north of the Arctic Circle, the western coastal town does not experience the summer or winter solstices and so has a dark winter. The sun returns to the sky each year on January 13, except for this year when it rose two days early on January 11.
The scientific community is abuzz over the phenomenon. Speculation that the early sunrise was a result of the 2012 leap year and changes in constellations is being called unlikely. An astronomist from Austria believes the sun’s rays may be at a stronger bend than usual which is resulting in the illusion that it’s appearing earlier.
The most troubling hypothesis, however, is that the sun rose early due to global warming and Greenland’s melting ice caps. In the last year, Greenland’s temperatures have risen an average of three degrees Celsius. Warmer temperatures increase ice melt and makes the horizon sinks lower and the sun appear earlier.
While nothing has been proven conclusively, Ilulissat’s early sunrise, like more severe winter weather, may be another example of the planet’s seemingly counterintuitive reaction to climate change.
