Cold reality: North Pole may be ice-free this summer

GLOBAL WARMING IMPACT: As Arctic sea ice is melted away, the North Pole may briefly be ice free.

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Atlanta: As Arctic sea ice is melted away by global warming, the North Pole may briefly be ice free by September, scientists from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado said.

"We kind of have an informal betting pool going around in our center and that betting pool is does the North Pole melt out this summer and it may well," said NSIDC senior research scientist Mark Serreze.

It's a 50-50 bet that the thin Arctic sea ice, which was frozen last autumn, will completely melt away at the geographic North Pole, Serreze said.

The ice retreated to a record level last September when the Northwest Passage — the sea route through the Arctic Ocean — opened up briefly for the first time since humans started keeping records.

"What we've seen through the past few decades is the Arctic sea ice cover is becoming thinner and thinner as the system warms up," Serreze added.

Specific weather patterns will determine if the North Pole's ice cover melts completely this summer, he said.

"Last year, we had sort of a perfect weather pattern to get rid of ice to open up that Northwest Passage," Serreze pointed out. "This year, a different pattern can set up so maybe we'll preserve some ice there. We're in a wait-and-see mode right now. We'll see what happens."