(CNN) Weather conditions that brought a heat wave to Europe last week are spreading to the Arctic, where scientists predict they could trigger one of Greenland's biggest ice melts on record.

The weather front, which caused mass disruption in European cities , is drifting towards Greenland, where unusually high temperatures are expected to accelerate ice melting, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Martin Stendel, a climate scientist at the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI), wrote on Twitter that forecasts indicated this would be the second largest ice melt since 1950, when reliable records began.

Map (left) shows 2 m temperature on Tuesday afternoon Greenland time. Greenish: above, bluish: below 0°C.

Graph (right) shows % of ice sheet with melting (https://t.co/laSKrJXKFI). Red: 2019, green: 2012. Based on NCEP reanalyses, we expect the 2nd largest melt event since 1950. pic.twitter.com/J725L1eJWs — Martin Stendel (@MartinStendel) July 28, 2019

Greenland's ice sheet usually melts during the summer but it started earlier than normal this year, in May, and has been melting "persistently" over the past four months, which have recorded all time temperature highs, Ruth Mottram, a climate scientist with DMI, told CNN.

"Our forecast suggests that will be just below zero degrees at the summit today which is 3000 meters above sea level. It's a very warm temperature for that altitude," she said.

Tidewater glaciers slide through Greenland's valleys, breaking up into icebergs when they meet the ocean.

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