Human-driven climate change may have prevented a new ice age, Canadian study finds

Human-induced climate change may have halted the onset of a new ice age, according to a study of Canada's Barnes Ice Cap, which began expanding about 2,000 years ago before shrinking abruptly in the 1960s. Researchers found the Laurentide Ice Sheet's remnant began growing again around 2,000 years ago, marking a potential start to a new cold period. However, warming summer temperatures, up 2.1 degrees Celsius nationally, reversed this expansion, with 1961 recorded as a key turning point. The Barnes Ice Cap, covering 6,000 square kilometres on Baffin Island, may melt completely within centuries. Its disappearance could alter future glaciation dynamics, potentially affecting ice age cycles in Europe, as the glacier's cooling feedback effects would be lost.