Arctic's Temperature Continues To Run Hot, Latest 'Report Card' Shows
The extreme warming trend continues, and scientists fear that floating sea ice will be gone by midcentury. That will have extraordinary effects closer to home.
The Arctic is a huge, icy cap on the planet that acts like a global air conditioner. But the air conditioner is breaking down, according to scientists who issued a grim "report card" on the Arctic on Tuesday. They say the North Pole continues to warm at an alarming pace â twice the rate as the rest of the planet, on average. This year was the Arctic's second-warmest in at least 1,500 Researchers say there was less winter ice in the Arctic Ocean than ever observed. And ocean water in parts of the polar Barents and Chukchi seas was a whopping 7 degrees Fahrenheit higher than just a few decades ago. It's a trend that has some calling the state of the Arctic a "new normal." But Arctic scientist says that term doesn't work for him.
