The Arctic is in its Polar night right now, a period of time that lasts from October to early March. This should be the coldest time of the year in these northern regions, with temperatures rarely getting above freezing, averaging about minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
But right now, the picture is very different. Temperatures across the Arctic are running about 36 degrees F. above normal. The temperatures have stopped the formation of sea ice and will lead to record lows of sea ice extent next year, say scientists.
Danish and US researchers have been monitoring the Arctic using satellite data and data from Arctic weather stations, and they are alarmed at the extent that air temperatures have risen, peaking at what they say is an unheard-of 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than normal for the time of year.
“It’s been about 20C warmer than normal over most of the Arctic Ocean, along with cold anomalies of about the same magnitude over north-central Asia. This is unprecedented for November,” research professor Jennifer Francis of Rutgers university told The Guardian.
“These temperatures are literally off the charts for where they should be at this time of year. It is pretty shocking. The Arctic has been breaking records all year. It is exciting but also scary,” added Francis.
It is scary enough that the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) issued a statement in their blog, writing that the degree of change shown by the current conditions in the Arctic may “prove to be the greatest change yet measured there—the latest signal from the Arctic that all is not well.”
The UCS points out that while the Arctic may seem to be far away and unimportant to most people, what happens there matters greatly to all of us. This is because the Arctic plays a major role in moderating the Earth’s climate.
Arctic is the great climate moderator
When heat from the Tropics is brought north by the winds and ocean currents, the Arctic exerts a cooling effect on both. It’s important to remember that if the Arctic is unable to do this, the lower latitudes would over-heat.
The sea ice and ice and snow-covered land in the Arctic are known as the “cryosphere” and this helps the Arctic to stay cool because this cover or cryosphere reflects most of the solar energy back into space. If there is little or no sea ice or snow-covered land, solar energy is absorbed, heating the Arctic.
Francis says the near-record low sea ice extent this summer gave us a warmer than normal autumn. “This helped make the jet stream waiver and allowed more heat and moisture to be driven into Arctic latitudes and perpetuate the warmth. It’s a vicious circle,” she added.
Rasmus Tonboe, a sea ice remote sensing expert at the Danish Meteorological Institute in Copenhagen, said: “Sea surface temperatures in the Kara and Barents seas are much warmer than usual. That makes it very difficult for sea ice to freeze.”
Francis is certain that by all indications, anthropogenic climate change is the reason behind the high temperatures and ice loss we are seeing in the Arctic. “It’s all expected. There is nothing but climate change that can cause these trends. This is all headed in the same direction and picking up speed.”
