Arctic Council Confirms Region Not Warming At Twice Global Rate; It's Warming 3X Faster
It is time to stop saying that the Arctic, with its melt-and-thaw feedback loops, is warming at twice the global rate, according to a new report. The Arctic is actually warming three times as fast as the world as a whole, asserts the report, issued last week by the eight-nation Arctic Council.
“Over the past 49 years, the Arctic has warmed three times faster than the world as a whole, leading to rapid and widespread changes in sea ice, land ice (glaciers and ice sheets), permafrost, snow cover, and other physical features and characteristics of the Arctic environment. These changes are transforming the Arctic, with far-reaching consequences,” said the statement summarizing the 2021 Arctic Climate Change Update issued by the council’s Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program working group.
From 1971 to 2019, the Arctic’s near-surface air temperature increased by 3.1 degrees Celsius, which is three times the global average, the report said. By season, the biggest temperature increase has been over the Arctic Ocean from October to May, with warming measured at 4.6 degrees Celsius during that time of the year. By location, the biggest increase has been over the northeastern Barents Sea, where air temperatures rose by 10.6 degrees Celsius during the measuring period, the summary report said.
The new benchmark got a prominent mention in the declaration issued at the end of the ministerial meeting in Reykjavik. The council noted “with utmost concern that for the past 50 years the Arctic has warmed at a rate three times the global average with harmful effects on the environment, biodiversity, society and infrastructure, as well as on subsistence-based livelihoods of many Arctic communities,” said the Reykjavik declaration, which used strong terms to describe climate change and the steps recommended to address it.
The new benchmark is not so much of a change as a refinement that reflects reality, said climate scientist Rick Thoman, who was not involved in the report. “It’s clear that this 40-year calculation — three times as warm — is completely defensible,” said Thoman, who is with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
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