About 12,000 years ago the ice cores recorded a very rapid change to cooler temperatures. The ice cores showed that these temperature decreases happened over only a few hundred years showing that climate changes were much faster than previously thought.
It's unlikely that all of Antarctica will melt completely in the foreseeable future. While some parts of Antarctica are melting, the entire continent is not expected to melt completely for many thousands of years.
It will take hundreds or even thousands of years for all that ice to melt.
What if all the ice melted in Antarctica?
About zero, for the next several hundred years at least. The good news is that it's not going to happen any time soon.
There are more than five million cubic miles of ice on Earth, and some scientists say it would take more than 5,000 years to melt it all.
Earth's climate would have to change drastically before the continent could support agriculture and permanent settlers. 24 Apr 2025
What did Antarctica look like 1 million years ago?
Antarctica hasn't always been a continent covered in thick ice. In fact, millions of years ago it resembled similar to a tropical forest with huge trees, and lots of diverse wildlife.
Antarctica hasn't always been covered with ice – the continent lay over the south pole without freezing over for almost 100 million years.
Speculative Futures: Beyond 100 Million Years Some scientists believe that the continents will eventually merge into a new supercontinent, similar to Pangaea. This massive landmass would dominate the planet's surface, surrounded by a vast ocean. However, as the sun continues to heat up, Earth could face a slow demise.
