Humans accidentally canceled the next ice age — but it’s no reason to celebrate, scientists say | CNN

The Barnes Ice Cap on Baffin Island, Canada, on July 12, 2026. Ponded blue meltwater dots the ice in places, and a vast network of meltwater channels spans the ice cap’s surface. See all topics Email Link Copied!

A shrinking ice cap in Arctic Canada tells a striking story of how humans may have halted the planet’s next ice age by burning fossil fuels, according to new research.

Around 20,000 years ago, the once vast Laurentide Ice Sheet sprawled from the Arctic Circle as far south as Illinois and was up to two miles thick in parts. All that remains of it now is the Delaware-sized Barnes Ice Cap on Baffin Island in Canada’s Nunavut territory.