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US president Donald Trump is interesting in buying Greenland, “two people with direct knowledge” of his plans have told the @WashingtonPost, the newspaper claims. Here’s their story ($) washingtonpost.com/business/2019/… 🇬🇱🇺🇲
The paper says aides are “bewildered”, but some of them believe the President is serious. It wouldn’t be the first time the US tried to buy the island. Allegedly the Truman administration offered Denmark $100 million for Greenland, a self-governing part of its kingdom, after WW2.
So you may be wondering why? The @WashingtonPost story says it’s unclear. But “according to the @CIA world factbook, Greenland is 2.2 million square km, with 1.7m of that covered in ice. It has considerable natural resources, such as coal and uranium.” 🤔
Climate scientists, who look to Greenland to study increases in global temperatures and its effects, might have something to say about the plans - especially given President Trump’s record on climate change newscientist.com/article/mg2333…
In March we reported that rain is becoming more common across Greenland’s ice sheet and it may be playing an important role in rising sea levels newscientist.com/article/219597…
In June this extraordinary photograph was taken by climate scientist Steffen Olsen of the Danish Meteorological Institute in Inglefield Fjord in Greenland and subsequently went viral online. That month saw temperatures more than 20°C above normal newscientist.com/article/mg2423… 
The speed and scale of Arctic melting is shocking even hardened researchers – the need to act now has never been clearer. Here's our chief reporter @AdamVaughan’s comment newscientist.com/article/mg2423…
Want more climate change news? For all the latest on our warming world go to newscientist.com/climate-change
