Beyond the Poles: The far-reaching dangers of melting ice

As ice continues to disappear in the Artic, the changes are being felt by species thousands miles away, like the North Atlantic right whale. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission hide caption

Students at the Rolwaling Sangag Choling Monastery School in Beding take a break to play volleyball in the afternoon sun. Climate change is affecting the everyday lives of residents in Beding, Nepal. Snow and glaciers are melting around the high-altitude Himalayan town, and the melting coupled with more variable rainfall means river flooding is an ever-growing threat. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

Left: On Sept. 27, 2020, the Glass Fire burns a hillside above Silverado Trail in St. Helena, Calif. Right: The ice that covers the Arctic Ocean is shrinking as the climate gets hotter. Scientists are finding it could be linked to weather that's helping fuel disasters. Left: Noah Berger/AP Right: Andy Mahoney/University of Alaska Fairbanks hide caption

As the climate gets hotter, the Arctic is spending more days as open ocean. Sea ice is shrinking. It's breaking up earlier in the spring and forming later in the fall. Kathryn Hansen/NASA hide caption

Galveston, Texas, has some of the fastest sea level rise in the world. To protect the city, engineers need to know how fast ice in West Antarctica will melt. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

Galveston, Texas, has some of the fastest sea level rise in the world. To protect the city, engineers need to know how fast ice in West Antarctica will melt. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption