The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has released aerial footage of a massive iceberg the size of Greater London. 

Named A81, the iceberg calved from the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica at the end of January. The BAS said there's no evidence that crack was caused by climate change, " this calving event has been expected and is part of the natural behavior of the Brunt Ice Shelf," professor Dominic Hodgson, BAS glaciologist, said in an early statement.

The city-sized frozen block can take decades to melt and release notable volumes of fresh water into the sea, which may affect local wildlife and organisms by changing the environment in certain areas.

The new A81 iceberg is about 1550 square kilometres, but it is not the largest iceberg that broke away from the Antarctic ice shelf. The A-68 iceberg calved from Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf in 2017 was 5800 square kilometres, over a quarter the Size of Wales. And Iceberg B-15 calved from the Ross Ice Shelf of Antarctica in March 2000, was the largest recorded iceberg with a surface area of 11,000 square kilometres.

(With input from AFP)

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