Much of the Arctic is in a burst of freak December warming.
In Utqiagvik, Alaska鈥檚 northernmost community formerly known as Barrow, it hit (4.4 degrees Celsius) Monday morning. That鈥檚 not only a record by six degrees (3.3 degrees Celsius) but it鈥檚 the warmest that region has seen on record from late October to late April, according to Rick Thoman, a climate specialist at the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
It rained over the weekend in Nome, Alaska, which is unusual but not unheard of for December and the town also had record-breaking warmth Sunday. Savoonga Creek was flooding and didn鈥檛 have snow cover, nor did the town of Teller northwest of Nome, where snow this time of year is used for drinking water, Thoman said.
On Sunday, the Arctic as a whole averaged 11.5 degrees (6.4 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 1979-2000 average temperature and on Monday, computer models showed that average to likely be 10.5 degrees (5.9 degrees Celsius) warmer than normal, according to the
In Nuuk, Greenland, on Friday it was shirt-sleeve weather in December, when the temperature peaked at 54 degrees (12.2 degrees Celsius), 26 degrees (14.4 degrees Celsius) above the normal high mark. In Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, on Friday it hit 48 degrees (8.9 degrees Celsius), which was 34 degrees (18.9 degrees Celsius) warmer than normal.
鈥淭he entire Arctic is hot except for small portions of the central and eastern Canadian Arctic and a very small portion of Siberia,鈥� Thoman said from a warmer than normal Fairbanks.
Part of it is because of a system of storms, which is likely just random weather, but part is it from lower than normal sea ice, which is , Thoman said.
Sea ice in the Arctic is about sixth lowest on record, according to the . It鈥檚 far below normal 鈥渂ut we鈥檝e seen worse,鈥� Thoman said.
Sea ice matters because in areas of the Arctic there鈥檚 no sun in the winter and the atmosphere is cold. But if there鈥檚 open water, that鈥檚 usually warmer than the atmosphere.
鈥淭hink of that as a heating pad and it鈥檚 just emitting heat into the atmosphere,鈥� Thoman said.
Because of that reduced sea ice, much of the Arctic is now warming four times faster than the rest of the globe, which leads to an increase in 鈥渨inter warm events,鈥� said Danish Meteorological Service ice scientist Jason Box, who studies Greenland.
鈥淪ome people cry 鈥榗ome off it, it鈥檚 just weather鈥�,鈥� Box said. 鈥淗owever, record-setting weather like we鈥檙e seeing plenty of examples of in recent years does tell a real story of climate heating.鈥�
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