According to British newspaper the Daily Mail today. The latest satellite photo reveals that Arctic has become an island since the dawn of history. The satellite photo taken three days ago shows that melting ice has opened up the famous North-West and North-East Passages - making it possible to sail around the Arctic ice cap.

The Arctic ice, showing as a pink mass in the 1979 picture, links up with northern Canada (on the left) and Russia (right)

The North-West Passage (circled left) and the North-East Passage (top right) are clear of ice

Shipping companies ,which hope they will are eagerly to reduce thousands of miles of their route, are eagerly to wait for the opening of the north-west passage and the north-east passage. But for the climatologists it is another sign that global warming is inflinct on the earth. Mark Serreze, a sea ice specialist, stated that these pictures are an "histioric event" which add to the fear that the Arctic ice cap has dissolved quickly. 

The photos presented by the NASA show the first time that two pathes linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans have not been ice-covered at the same time.  It's happened first time from 125,000 years ago. In 2005, the North-East Passage around Russia opened, while the North-West Passage  around the northern Canada remained closed, and in 2006 the position was reversed. The latest satellite data shows that the North-West Passage opened last weekend, and the the remaining ice mass blocking the North-Eastern passage dissolved a few days later. Professor Serreze, of National Snow and Ice Data Center funded by the U.S. government, claimed that:"The passages are open. It is an historic event. We are going to see this more and more in the future."

Shipping companies are ready to explore new routes. The Beluga group, located in the Bremen, plans to send the first ship through the North-East passage next year, cutting 4,000 nautical miles off the voyage from Germany to Japan. If the ice mass continues to dissolve at the present rates, it will be possible to sail right across the Arctic. Many scientists believe that the huge ice mass around the North Pole would completely dissolved in the summer by 2030. Others believe mid-July and mid-September would be the ice-free period after five years, although currently frozen all year in North Pole.  For weeks ago, tourists had to be evacuated from the Auyuittuq National Park in northern Canada because of flooding from thawed glaciers. The park's name means 'land that never melts' (Huang huan)