If the Ice Keeps Melting
氷が溶け続けたら
Ao kept swimming north, into seas where thick ice had ruled for ages.
The water grew colder, but the ice was thinner than any map had shown.
"If the ice keeps melting, these waters will change forever," Sofia warned.
She knew that if temperatures rose further, whole ecosystems would .
"If I were a whale," she thought, "I would not recognise this ocean anymore."
Every summer, the ice melts earlier, and every winter it returns later.
If this continues, many animals will lose their only home.
"If Ao could speak," Sofia said, "she would tell us how fast the world is changing."
The tiny creatures that whales eat depend on the cold ice above them.
If the ice disappears, the food chain of the whole region will break.
Sofia explained that if people acted now, the worst damage could still be avoided.
"If we did nothing," she said, "we would lose more than we can imagine."
Scientists have warned for years that if warming continues, sea levels will rise.
If the great ice sheets melted completely, many cities would disappear underwater.
Ao dived deep, searching for food in a sea that was slowly warming.
"If she were here next year," Sofia wondered, "would she find anything to eat?"
The question was no longer only about one whale or one ocean.
If the climate keeps changing, the story of Ao will become the story of us all.
Sofia realised that if she stayed silent, nothing would ever improve.
"If I told this story well," she thought, "people might finally listen."
The northern sky glowed with strange, beautiful colours above the melting ice.
If humans reduce their soon, the ice may survive for future generations.
But if we wait too long, even the strongest whale will have nowhere to go.
Sofia wrote down her fear and her hope in the same trembling line.