When will global warming melt the Ice?

Answer 1

It is melting the ice already.

Glaciers all over the world are diminishing, for example in mountains where they feed rivers with water that is being used by all the people that live alongside these rivers. Bolivia's glaciers are melting faster than originally projected, with the Chacaltaya glacier entirely melting away in 2009. The Chinese Academy of Sciences estimates Tibetan glacial ice has decreased 7% in the past four decades. At that rate the Himalayas should be ice free in 600 years. However the rate of melt is expected to increase as global temperature increases and existing ice diminishes. As recently as 1850 Glacier National Park in the United States had 150 glaciers. This year it is down to 35.

In the (northern hemisphere) summer of 2007, the ice coverage of the arctic sea decreased dramatically, much more than projected by the models used for climate predictions so far.

Even around the south pole huge parts of the Antarctic ice are breaking off. Glaciers in Greenland are moving faster towards the sea than they used to. In 1996 Greenland ice loss was 23 cubic miles per year. By 2005 that had increased to 53 cubic miles per year, and 57 cubic miles per year by 2006. Although 2011 was cooler than 2010, the ice loss last year was about the same, and much higher yet than in 2006. Although most projections indicate it would take one to three centuries for Greenland to lose all its ice, there is enough there to raise ocean levels over 20 feet.

If the question meant to say 'When will global warming have melted all the ice on earth', then the answer is probably very hard to predict. However, predictions such as a completely ice-free arctic sea within a century or less are within the range of serious scientific up-to-date scenarios. That explains the urge with which scientists are underlining the need for cutting down greenhouse gas emissions strongly and rapidly.

Another Answer:

Over the past thirty years the Himalayas, for example, have seen zero melting (overall) of the glacial packs there. Ice has overall been slightly increasing in the Antarctic over the past several decades as well. The Arctic has seen some back and forth loss and if melting keeps going and the normal cycles were to stop, we would see total ice loss in that area in just over 15,000 years.

Answer 2

The rate of ice melt due to global warming varies by region and is difficult to predict with precision. However, current trends suggest that significant melting is already occurring in places like the Arctic and Antarctic, leading to rising sea levels and ecological impacts. Efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions may help mitigate the extent of ice melt in the future.