The world's largest iceberg is at risk of breaking away from Antarctica

The largest iceberg ever discovered is only connected to the rest of Antarctica with 19km of ice, which can be detached at any time.

One of the world 's largest icebergs is in a "hanging hair" situation . The scientists said the crack at the edge of the Larsen C ice shelf is spreading, causing the giant iceberg to remain loosely connected to the rest of Antarctica, which can be detached at any time, the Mirror. 2/5 reported.

An extra crack at the edge of Larsen C.

At the end of last year, the crack on the Larsen C ice shelf suddenly increased by about 17km, creating a new iceberg formation covering an area of ​​more than 4,920km ² , equivalent to the size of the South Wales coast. There are only 19 kms of iceberg connecting Larsen C with iceberg.

The main crack continued to grow from the beginning of this year, it is currently about 178km long. Satellite data show that the second branch of the crack is approaching the edge of the iceberg. When the iceberg breaks, it will become one of the largest ice blocks ever recorded.

Cracks at the edge of Larsen C ice shelf look from above.(Photo: NASA).

This is the first significant change of the crack since February this year. Although the length of the crack has stabilized in the past few months, it is expanding continuously at a speed of more than 1m / day, the widest place is up to nearly 500m.

When the iceberg split off, the Larsen C ice shelf will lose more than 10% of its area, marking a significant change in the Antarctic terrain, scientists warn.