An Ominous Sign of what's To Come
The Arctic Circle Hit 101°F Saturday, Its Hottest Temperature Ever
Trevor Nace
4-5 minutes
Kurai steppe and Chuya river on North-Chui ridge background. Altai mountains, Russia. Aerial drone ... [+] panoramic picture.
Getty
This past weekend, a small Russian town in the Arctic Circle hit a scorching temperature, 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. While the temperature has to be verified by experts, if it stands, it will be the hottest temperature ever recorded in the Arctic Circle.
The small Russian town of Verkhoyansk is known for its brutally cold winters and is one of the coldest towns on Earth. However, temperatures in recent months have skyrocketed double digits above average temperatures.
The average high temperature in Verkhoyansk in June is 68°F, meaning this record day was over 30 degrees hotter than average. For reference, the coldest month of the year Verkhoyansk is January where the high is, on average, -44°F. Yes, you read that correct, negative 44 degrees Fahrenheit is the average high temperature in January.
Before this record-breaking high temperature, temperatures in Siberia were, on average, 18 degrees higher than normal in May. This past May broke the record for the hottest May since record keeping.
The Arctic Circle, which is defined as anything above 66.5°N latitude, has experienced more extreme warming as a result of climate change than lower latitudes (tropics).
It is well known that the poles warm faster as a result of climate change. For example, the average increase in temperature on Earth over the past 40 years is 1.44°F. In comparison, the Arctic has warmed by more than 3.5°F during the same period, more than double the global average.
According to NASA’s research, Earth’s poles warm faster than the rest of the planet because of large-scale energy transport from atmospheric processes. The poles receive their heat from atmospheric and oceanic systems pushing heat from the tropics to the poles. As warming continues, these systems are exacerbated, bringing disproportionally more heat to the poles.
A woman wears mukluks, traditional reindeer skin boots designed to retain hear in cold weather. On ... [+] January 15, temperatures in Yakutsk dropped as low as -30°C. The Yakutian winter usually starts early in October and lasts for seven months, the coldest of them being January with its average temperature of -45°C. The bitterest frosts may reach -65°C, in the vicinity of Oymyakon and Verkhoyansk even -70°C.
Yevgeny Sofroneyev/TASS
Warming is also increased due to the change in reflectivity (albedo) of the poles. As sea and land ice (which is very reflective) melt and reveal rock and vegetation (which is much less reflective) there is a positive feedback loop that causes the surface to warm, melt more ice, become less reflective, and continue on the cycle of warming.
Thus, those living in high latitude countries (Canada, Russia, Scandinavia, etc.) will experience significantly more warming than those living in low latitude countries (Brazil, Indonesia, Ecuador, etc.).
Snow Covered Verkhoyansk Mountains from airplane northern Siberia, Sakha Republic, Russia. River in ... [+] foreground may be Olenyok River
Getty
This dramatic warming of the Arctic up to triple-digit temperatures was not expected to happen until 2100 from climate change. But the reality of warming due to climate change has exceeded expectations as warming, particularly in the poles, has caused record-breaking temperatures in the past decade.
The Arctic Circle Hit 101°F Saturday, Its Hottest Temperature Ever
Trevor Nace
4-5 minutes
Kurai steppe and Chuya river on North-Chui ridge background. Altai mountains, Russia. Aerial drone ... [+] panoramic picture.
Getty
This past weekend, a small Russian town in the Arctic Circle hit a scorching temperature, 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. While the temperature has to be verified by experts, if it stands, it will be the hottest temperature ever recorded in the Arctic Circle.
The small Russian town of Verkhoyansk is known for its brutally cold winters and is one of the coldest towns on Earth. However, temperatures in recent months have skyrocketed double digits above average temperatures.
The average high temperature in Verkhoyansk in June is 68°F, meaning this record day was over 30 degrees hotter than average. For reference, the coldest month of the year Verkhoyansk is January where the high is, on average, -44°F. Yes, you read that correct, negative 44 degrees Fahrenheit is the average high temperature in January.
Before this record-breaking high temperature, temperatures in Siberia were, on average, 18 degrees higher than normal in May. This past May broke the record for the hottest May since record keeping.
The Arctic Circle, which is defined as anything above 66.5°N latitude, has experienced more extreme warming as a result of climate change than lower latitudes (tropics).
It is well known that the poles warm faster as a result of climate change. For example, the average increase in temperature on Earth over the past 40 years is 1.44°F. In comparison, the Arctic has warmed by more than 3.5°F during the same period, more than double the global average.
According to NASA’s research, Earth’s poles warm faster than the rest of the planet because of large-scale energy transport from atmospheric processes. The poles receive their heat from atmospheric and oceanic systems pushing heat from the tropics to the poles. As warming continues, these systems are exacerbated, bringing disproportionally more heat to the poles.
A woman wears mukluks, traditional reindeer skin boots designed to retain hear in cold weather. On ... [+] January 15, temperatures in Yakutsk dropped as low as -30°C. The Yakutian winter usually starts early in October and lasts for seven months, the coldest of them being January with its average temperature of -45°C. The bitterest frosts may reach -65°C, in the vicinity of Oymyakon and Verkhoyansk even -70°C.
Yevgeny Sofroneyev/TASS
Warming is also increased due to the change in reflectivity (albedo) of the poles. As sea and land ice (which is very reflective) melt and reveal rock and vegetation (which is much less reflective) there is a positive feedback loop that causes the surface to warm, melt more ice, become less reflective, and continue on the cycle of warming.
Thus, those living in high latitude countries (Canada, Russia, Scandinavia, etc.) will experience significantly more warming than those living in low latitude countries (Brazil, Indonesia, Ecuador, etc.).
Snow Covered Verkhoyansk Mountains from airplane northern Siberia, Sakha Republic, Russia. River in ... [+] foreground may be Olenyok River
Getty
This dramatic warming of the Arctic up to triple-digit temperatures was not expected to happen until 2100 from climate change. But the reality of warming due to climate change has exceeded expectations as warming, particularly in the poles, has caused record-breaking temperatures in the past decade.
