In September, a container ship set sail from China to the United Kingdom via the Northern Sea Route, marking a change in decades of shipping industry practice.

The route has been used before, if infrequently, but rising global temperatures are melting Arctic sea ice, enabling the passage of commercial traffic. In a news release, the Ningbo Customs District heralded the opening of "the world's first China-Europe Arctic Express container route," calling it "a major breakthrough" for China's Belt and Road Initiative in the region, per CNN.

The development realizes a 2017 proposal between China and Russia to create the "Polar Silk Road," according to the release, which pointed to a goal of "year-round navigation."

"[This] resembles more of a traditional liner service," Malte Humpert, founder and senior fellow of The Arctic Institute, told CNN. "That's something we have not seen in the Arctic so far."

Even though the route halves the time -- and the carbon pollution -- it takes to make the trip to Europe via the Suez Canal, there are drawbacks. Sea ice can block or damage ships, while the Arctic's freezing temperatures, darkness, and fog create hazards that threaten humans and animal life as well as the environment.

A mishap could cause deaths or an oil spill. Other worries include noise pollution and whale strikes. "It's not a question of 'if,' just a matter of 'when,'" Humpert told CNN.

"Developing this route could bring big economic and geopolitical rewards for China, which is looking ahead to an ice-free Arctic and the strategic opportunities it can provide, experts say," CNN reported. "However, they warn, sending fleets of ships through this pristine, remote and dangerous environment is an ecological and human disaster waiting to happen."

The fact that the route is navigable shows how much the climate has changed in just decades. The rapid heating of Earth -- driven by the production of polluting gases that envelop the planet like a blanket -- is most apparent at the poles, where ice is melting at alarming rates. This contributes to sea level rise and creates a negative feedback loop in which white ice gives way to dark water, which absorbs sunrays rather than reflecting them.

The destabilization of the Arctic has the potential to collapse the natural balance of the environment and wreak havoc around the world.

CNN noted that Western countries are wary of using the route because of its proximity to Russia as well as environmental risks. The Mediterranean Shipping Company has pledged to avoid "the fragile ecosystem," saying that its business is not dependent on using the route.

Container ship charts new course that could redefine global trade: 'Something we have not seen'