Greenland

Topic: World Physical Features and Natural Regions · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Greenland is the world's largest island. It is a self-governing (autonomous) territory of Denmark in the far north, with the Arctic Ocean to its north and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east. It matters for two reasons. First, its huge ice sheet is the second largest in the world and is melting fast, which raises sea level everywhere, including along India's coast. Second, its minerals and its position on new Arctic sea routes have put it at the centre of world politics.

Explanation

Island, location and political status

• Island: a piece of land with water all around it.

• Australia is bigger, but it is counted as a continent. So Greenland is the world's largest island.

• Size (NCERT: Class 6): Greenland is as large as India's ten largest states put together.

• Plate: it sits in the far north of the North America plate.
• Political status: it is an autonomous (self-governing) territory of Denmark, not an independent country.
• Greenland runs most of its own affairs.
• Denmark handles its foreign affairs and defence.

The Greenland ice sheet

• Ice sheet: a huge, thick layer of ice on land that covers more than about 50,000 km².
• Ranking: Greenland's ice sheet is the second largest in the world, after Antarctica's.
• If all of it melted: global sea level would rise by about 7 m. NASA gives the figure as about 7.4 m (24 feet) [3][2].
• Land ice and sea ice are different:
• Greenland's ice sits on land. When it melts or slides into the sea, it adds new water to the ocean, so sea level rises.

• Sea ice is frozen seawater that already floats on the ocean, so its melting adds little to sea level.

• Tipping element: a part of the Earth system that can pass a threshold and then change sharply, often in a way that cannot be reversed. The Greenland ice sheet is a tipping element.

How and how fast Greenland is losing ice

• Two ways ice is lost:
• Surface melting: sunlight and warm air melt the top of the ice.

• Ice discharge: ice slides off into the sea as glaciers and icebergs.

• Steady loss: Greenland has lost ice every year since the late 1990s. The average loss was about 219 billion tonnes (Gt) a year in 2003–2024 [2].

• Speeding up: yearly loss went up from about 25 Gt in the 1990s to about 234 Gt in recent years. That is roughly seven times faster [3].
• 2024–25 (September 2024 to August 2025): a smaller loss, but not good news
• Total loss was about 129 Gt, less than usual [2].
• Cause: more snow fell.
• Process: fresh white snow reflects more sunlight, so less heat is taken in and less ice melts.
• But: ice discharge stayed high, at about 491 Gt a year [2]. Glaciers kept pushing ice into the sea.

Why Greenland matters in geopolitics

• Minerals: rare earth elements and other minerals lie under its rocks.
• Location: it sits on the North Atlantic and close to new Arctic shipping routes.
• Arctic amplification makes it more important:
• The Arctic is warming nearly four times faster than the world as a whole.

• Ice melts, so minerals are easier to reach and sea routes open up.

• US interest: the USA showed interest in buying Greenland in 2019 and again in 2025. Greenland and Denmark both rejected the idea.

Where it occurs

• World location: far north of the North America plate. The Arctic Ocean lies to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean lies to the south and east.
• Sea routes: it sits on the North Atlantic, near new Arctic shipping routes.
• Arctic Council: Denmark is one of the eight Arctic member states because of Greenland. The others are Canada, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the USA. Indigenous groups such as the Inuit are permanent participants, not voting members.
• Link to India:
• India has been an observer in the Arctic Council since 2013.
• Ice lost from Greenland raises sea level along India's 7,500 km coast. This threatens Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, the Sundarbans and Lakshadweep.

Don't confuse with

• Australia: it is bigger than Greenland, but it is a continent, not an island. So Greenland is the largest island.
• Antarctic ice sheet: this is the largest ice sheet, lies on a continent around the South Pole, and holds about 90% of the world's ice. Greenland's ice sheet is second, in the Northern Hemisphere, and lies on an island.
• Arctic sea ice: this is floating, frozen seawater, so its melting adds little to sea level. Greenland's ice is land ice, and its melting raises sea level directly.
• Svalbard: this archipelago (group of islands) belongs to Norway and has India's Himadri station at Ny-Alesund. Greenland belongs to Denmark, and India has no station there.

Prelims Hooks

• Greenland is the largest island in the world, because Australia is counted as a continent.
• Political status: it is an autonomous territory of Denmark, not an independent country. Denmark handles its foreign affairs and defence.
• Ice-sheet ranking: Antarctica first, Greenland second. If Greenland's ice melted completely, sea level would rise by about 7 m [2].
• Rate of loss: about 219 Gt a year on average in 2003–2024 [2]. It has lost ice every year since the late 1990s.
• Arctic Council trap: Denmark is a member because of Greenland. India is only an observer (since 2013), not a member.
• Size (NCERT Class 6): Greenland is as large as India's ten largest states put together.

Mains Points

• Sea-level threat to India (GS-III, disasters and environment):
• Greenland loses about 219 Gt of ice a year [2], and the rate has risen about seven times since the 1990s [3].

• Higher seas bring more coastal flooding and salt water into farmland and aquifers (underground water layers). This puts Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, the Sundarbans and Lakshadweep at risk.

• Tipping-point risk (GS-I/GS-III):

• The Greenland ice sheet is a tipping element. One good snow year (2024–25: about 129 Gt lost [2]) does not reverse the trend, because ice discharge stayed near 491 Gt a year [2].

• Long-term watching of the ice, and cutting the emissions that drive Arctic amplification, both matter.

• Arctic geopolitics (GS-II/GS-I):

• Melting ice exposes rare earth elements and opens Arctic shipping routes, which drew US interest in buying Greenland in 2019 and 2025.
• India's Arctic Policy (2022) balances science, climate concerns, shipping links and good governance [1]. India also takes part in Arctic Council work as an observer.

Related concepts

• Arctic Council
• Himadri station
• Antarctic Treaty
• Indian Antarctic research stations
• Thwaites Glacier

Read more

• The polar regions: Greenland, Antarctica, the Arctic and India's stations