- The Guardian
- Issue #2138
The Arctic and Antarctic polar ice caps are usually covered in white snow and ice that reflect heat back into space. The ice has melted to record lows since records began 47 years ago. NASA satellite imaging shows that the polar ice caps are shrinking nine per cent every ten years!
According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s monitoring of polar temperatures, the Arctic had its second warmest year in 2024 based on data going back to 1900. Although cool conditions prevailed in Scandinavia, Iceland, and along coastal regions of eastern Eurasia and southeastern Greenland, warm conditions predominated across most of the Arctic. Warmth was especially pronounced across eastern North America and stretches of Siberia. Glacial melt of the Greenland ice sheet is a major predictor of future sea level rise; if it melts entirely, global sea levels could rise six metres.
In 2020, the Arctic reached its highest temperature of 38°C in Verkhoyansk, Republic of Sakha, Russia. The climate in the Nordic region is warming significantly faster than the rest of the world, according to data reviewed by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI). Temperatures in Finland were last year 3.4 degrees warmer on average than in the pre-industrial era, and 2024 was the fourth warmest year on record. As the Harvard Gazette says, “If emissions continue to rise unchecked, the Arctic could be ice-free in the summer by 2040. But what happens in the Arctic does not stay in the Arctic. Sea ice loss has far-reaching effects around the world.”
Ice is also melting in Antarctica, where the highest temperature ever recorded was at Seymour Island, located on the northeast Antarctic Peninsula. In 2020, the mercury hit a record high of 20.75°C which represents a warming of 3.25°C in five years.
As temperatures rise, the polar ice caps start to melt and break apart. Less ice means less reflected heat, leading to more intense heatwaves worldwide. But it also means more extreme winters as the polar jet stream – a high-pressure wind that circles the Arctic region – is destabilised by warmer air. It can dip south, bringing bitter cold with it. Ice loss is already causing significant damage to crops on which global food systems depend. This instability will continue to mean higher prices and growing crises for the world’s most vulnerable.
The changing environment at the poles affects Indigenous peoples, animals, and plants. It also accelerates climate change. Animals such as seals, polar bears, and whales may be forced to change their natural migration patterns. People who live in coastal villages are already being forced to abandon their homes as sea levels rise and climate change brings more extreme and frequent weather events.
“We’ve had not just one or two record-breaking years, but a full ten-year series. This has been accompanied by devastating and extreme weather, rising sea levels and melting ice, all powered by record-breaking greenhouse gas levels due to human activities,” said World Meteorological Organisation Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
One event leads to another: Arctic ice and permafrost – ground that is permanently frozen – store large amounts of methane, a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. When it thaws, the methane is released, increasing the rate of warming. This, in turn, causes more ice and permafrost to thaw or melt, releasing more methane, causing more melting. As we lose more ice more quickly and see more rapid permafrost melt, we will start seeing the worst climate change predictions come true. There is still time to limit climate change. In the meantime, helping communities and wildlife adapt to changes already underway is essential.
The extreme weather events that are on the rise around the world are not ‘one in a hundred year’ events, nor are they ‘natural disasters.’
