South China Morning Post published this video item, entitled “Iceland ‘mega truck’ offers first-hand look at glacier melting accelerated by climate change” – below is their description.
The world’s biggest glacier truck, with tyres two metres (6.5ft) tall, offers tourists breathtaking views of Langjökull, Iceland’s second-largest sheet of ice. Climate change could melt as much as 80 to 90 per cent of the glacier by the end of the century, according to Thorsteinn Thorsteinsson, a glacier specialist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office. New mountains and glacial islands have been exposed as the ice melts at a faster rate than it grows during winter months.
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In This Story: Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, with a population of 356,991 and an area of 103,000 km2 (40,000 sq mi), making it the most sparsely populated country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Reykjavík. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle.
Iceland’ gained independence in 1918 and founded a republic in 1944. Although its parliament (Althing) was suspended from 1799 to 1845, the island republic has been credited with sustaining the world’s oldest and longest-running parliament.
Hit hard by the worldwide financial crisis, the nation’s entire banking system systemically failed in October 2008, leading to an economic crisis and the collapse of the country’s three largest banks. By 2014, the Icelandic economy had made a significant recovery, in large part due to a surge in tourism.
Iceland has the smallest population of any NATO member and is the only one with no standing army, with a lightly armed coast guard.
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