Arctic ice cap to vanish in 80 years, study says Kyoto climate treaty came 'too late' to save polar ice from melting Jonathan Leake The Times, London Sunday, December 22, 2002 The ice cap covering the North Pole will vanish in less than 80 years as climate change melts it away, say British meteorological researchers. The area covered by ice has shrunk by 20 per cent since the 1950s and its average winter thickness has reduced by 40 per cent since 1970. From detailed measurements of the rate of melting, the Met Office's Hadley Centre for monitoring climate change predicts...