Antarctica is melting fast

More than hundreds, of Antarctic icebergs are floating towards New Zealand in a rare event which has prompted a shipping warning, officials said on Monday.

An Australian Antarctic Division glaciologist said the ice chunks, spotted by satellite photography, had passed the Auckland Islands and were heading towards the main South Island, about 450 kilometres northeast.

Scientist Neal Young said more than 100 icebergs, some measuring more than 200 metres (650 feet) wide, were seen in just one cluster, indicating there could be hundreds more.

All of these have come from a larger one that was probably 30 square kilometres (11.6 square miles) in size when it left Antarctica reports AFP. These were the remains of a massive ice floe which split from the Antarctic as sea and air temperatures rise due to global warming.

It's done a long circuit around Antarctica and now the bigger parts of it are breaking up and producing smaller ones it further said.