Like Birthday without a cake, North Pole may have no ice , this summer.

There could be a brief time this summer when there is no ice on the North Pole, said a U.S. scientist blaming global warming that has melted the Arctic ice sheet over decades.

'We could have no ice at the North Pole at the end of this summer' Mark Serveze, a scientist with the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Balder, Colorada told AFP.

''And the reason here is that the North Pole are right now is covered with very thin ice and this ice we call first year ice, the ice that tends to melt out in hte summer'.

He put the chance of there being no ice at one point at 50 per cent saying it could see' ships sail from Alaska to the North Pole , that's possible'.

The ice on the North Pole has melted before 'but certainly not in modern times' said Mr. Serveze.

'We may have no ice at all in the Arctic Ocean in summer by 2030 or so'.

Meanwhile, China's third Arctic expedition will set sail from Shanghai next month to study the polar region's distinctive maritime resources and air quality.