Arctic temperatures are 12°F above normal for 1990s

The Arctic’s sweltering 2020 continues in earnest with temperatures last weekend reaching more than 5° (12°F) above the norm for the 1990s.  

This alarming recording, from the University of Maine’s Climate Reanlayzer, is an average figure for the entire Arctic, an area measuring some 7.7 million square miles.

In some isolated pockets, the temperature is more than 20°C (30 – 40F) above the expected average. 

Much of the Arctic is currently experiencing temperatures of around -10°C (14F), similar to what is experienced in much of Canada. 

The snapshot of the world’s weather reveals the severity of the world’s global warming problem in the Arctic, punctuating a year of unwanted records.  

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The Arctic’s sweltering 2020 continues in earnest with temperatures last weekend reaching more than 5° (12°F) above the norm for the 1990s. In some isolated pockets (light red), the temperature is more than 20°C (30 – 40F) above the expected average.

Much of the Arctic is currently experiencing temperatures of around -10°C (14F), similar to what is experienced in much of Canada

Much of the Arctic is currently experiencing temperatures of around -10°C (14F), similar to what is experienced in much of Canada

Jeff Berardell, CBS’s Meteorologist and Climate Specialist, writes: ‘While the pace of global warming is the fastest we have seen in millions of years, nowhere is it warming faster than the Arctic. 

‘Temperatures in the Arctic are rising at three times the pace of the rest of the globe.’

It comes in a year where Arctic sea ice reached a record low due to soaring temperatures caused by global warming. 

September is the month when sea ice is at its lowest levels, but 2020 saw the second lowest amount of sea ice on record. 

Recovery of the frozen regions, which normally occurs in October, was also delayed this year.   

As a result, the Northeast Passage along the Siberian coast was left open for a record 112 days.

Historically, this passage would be open for a handful of days, and in some years it would never open. 

Researchers from Germany recently found global warming is being accelerated by the melting of light-coloured Arctic sea ice.

Researchers from Germany recently found global warming is being accelerated by the melting of light-coloured Arctic sea ice.  This process forms a 'vicious circle' of positive feedback which is worsening the Arctic heating

Researchers from Germany recently found global warming is being accelerated by the melting of light-coloured Arctic sea ice.  This process forms a ‘vicious circle’ of positive feedback which is worsening the Arctic heating

An enduring heatwave throughout 2020 saw a new highest temperature on record for the Arctic as well as the region being more than 5C warmer, on average, for the first half of this year. Pictured, the new temperature record for the Arctic in June (pictured)

An enduring heatwave throughout 2020 saw a new highest temperature on record for the Arctic as well as the region being more than 5C warmer, on average, for the first half of this year. Pictured, the new temperature record for the Arctic in June (pictured)

Northern Hemisphere endured its hottest summer ever in 2020

June, July and August of 2020 created the hottest summer ever recorded in the Northern hemisphere, according to official data. 

When accounting for the Southern hemisphere as well, 2020 ranks as the world’s third-warmest summer since records began in 1880.

From the start of June to the end of August, the average temperature north of the equator was 2.11°F (1.17°C) above the pre-industrial average. 

This tops the previous hottest summers of 2016 and 2019, which were tied in top spot. 

The figures come on the back of the second-hottest August on record for the top half of the globe. 

Last month, the temperature was, on average, 2.14°F (1.19° C) higher than the average August temperature of the 20th century, before the Industrial Revolution.  

However, some regions suffered more than others in the August heat.

North America endured its hottest August on record, driving record-breaking wildfires, while Europe sweltered through its third-hottest recorded summer. 

South America and Oceania experienced their fourth-hottest August on record, according to NOAA data.  

August 2020 also marks the 44th consecutive August where temperatures have been above the 20th-century average.

This process forms a ‘vicious circle’ of positive feedback  which is worsening the Arctic heating. 

‘If global ice masses shrink, this changes how much of the sunlight that hits Earth’s surface is reflected back into space,’ said paper author and climate scientist Nico Wunderling of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

‘Decreasing ice cover in the Arctic exposes more of the darker ocean water that absorbs more energy,’ he explained of the phenomenon, which scientists refer to as the ‘albedo effect’.

‘It is like wearing white or black clothes in summer. If you wear dark, you heat up more easily,’ Dr Wunderling continued. 

An enduring heatwave throughout 2020 saw a new highest temperature on record for the Arctic as well as the region being more than 5C warmer, on average, for the first half of this year.

Scientists analysing this anomalous weather concluded it was almost definitely caused by humans. 

A July study found Siberia’s recent heatwave was made 600 times more likely due to human-induced climate change and would have been ‘effectively impossible’ without anthropogenic emissions. 

The extreme weather saw a huge amount of wildfires raging across Siberia, releasing an average of 700 tonnes of carbon dioxide every minute up to September.  

A total of 244 megatonnes of CO2 spewed into the air from the Arctic Circle wildfires, plaguing the world’s northernmost region between January 1 and August 31.

While the Arctic has borne the brunt of the warming, the entire Northern Hemisphere has this year experienced its hottest summer on record. 

From the start of June to the end of August, the average temperature north of the equator was 2.11°F (1.17°C) above the pre-industrial average. 

This tops the previous hottest summers of 2016 and 2019, which were tied in top spot.