Arctic - Warmest Summer Ever Recorded

Heat is making its presence felt even in the cold regions of the globe. The summer of 2023 has been the warmest ever recorded in the Arctic, according to a key American report that paints an alarming picture of this region, highly exposed to the effects of climate change. This annual document, published on Tuesday by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), highlights, in particular, the scale of record wildfires that hit Canada during the summer and the ongoing melting of the Greenland ice cap. The last year (October 2022 - September 2023) ranked sixth in the list of the warmest years measured after 1900 in the Arctic. However, the summer of 2023 (July-September) set a new record, with an average temperature of 6.4 degrees Celsius. "The key message of this year's report is that it's time to act," said Rick Spinrad, director of NOAA, in a statement. "As a nation and as a global community, we must significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are causing these climate changes," added the American official. Globally, the year 2023 is predicted to be declared the hottest in the history of meteorological measurements, according to forecasts earlier this year by administrators of the European Copernicus service. The Arctic is affected by a phenomenon called "Arctic amplification," whereby this region warms faster than areas at mid-latitudes. Over 80 experts from 13 countries contributed to the new report, which has been published every year for the past 18 years. They focused on changes observed in precipitation, which were higher than normal average values, but with significant regional differences. Thus, the summer of 2023 was abnormally dry in the northern part of North America, fueling devastating fires in Canada. These fires led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and intense air pollution. In Greenland, despite an above-average snow accumulation during the winter, the mass of the ice cap continued to decrease-although less than in other years. The American report notes that at a station located at the highest point of the Greenland ice cap, a temperature of 0.4 degrees Celsius was recorded on June 26, 2023, experiencing ice melting for only the fifth time in the 34 years of these meteorological observations. The melting of Greenland's ice contributes to rising sea levels and has repercussions that extend far beyond the Arctic region.