The North Pole registered the highest temperatures in 115 years

Un rapporto dell’agenzia americana Noaa lancia un nuovo allarme: “Registriamo caldo record, ghiacci in ritirata e coltre nevosa sempre più sottile”.

Air temperature keeps on rising in the Arctic region, setting a new record in 2015. The 2015 Arctic Report Card, of the US agency NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), confirms it. “Such high levels have never been reached in the Polar Circle since temperature is regularly recorded, i.e. 115 years”.

Record temperatures: +3 degrees compared to 1900

Average temperatures  between October 2014 and September 2015 have increased by 3°C in the Arctic since 1900.

 

arctic ice
© Joe Raedle/Getty Images

 

At the United Nations Climate Conference (COP21), governments debated on the limit of the average global temperature rise. They eventually decided to maintain it “well below 2°C”, committing to getting closer to 1.5 degrees. Exceeding such temperatures would mean condemning the planet to a catastrophe. These figures and statements make the Arctic situation ever more alarming, since the thresholds have already been exceeded there.

 

The lowest ice cap extent since 1979

NOAA adds that, over the past winter, ice cap has reached its maximum extent on 25 February, two weeks earlier than normal. It has also been the lowest extent registered since 1979.


There’s more. Snow cover has dramatically decreased: 18% each decade (from 1980’s to date). “The Arctic is warming twice as fast as other parts of the planet, which has ramifications for global security, climate, commerce, and trade, said NOAA Chief Scientist Dr. Richard Spinrad. “ The decline in sea ice is dramatically changing the habitat for walruses — large marine mammals that traditionally use sea ice for mating, giving birth to young, finding food and shelter from storms and predators”.

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