Arctic is currently 20°C warmer than usual: "freakishly high"

Warm oceans, northward winds and "freakishly high" temperatures in the Arctic are coming together to warm up the Arctic even more, climate scientists have said.

Air temperatures over the Arctic sea ice are 9-12°C higher than normal, according to data released by the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI). For several days last week the temperatures above the North Pole reached melting point at 0°C. At this time of year temperatures above the Pole are usually -20°C, says researcher Martin Stendel of DMI.

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"This is by far the highest recorded," Stendel says. "What we are observing is very unusual."

Warmth is brought to the Pole by winds from western Europe and from the west of Africa – while a strong El Niño effect earlier in the year compounded the problem.

"The winds carrying this heat is a temporary –and fairly unprecedented – weather phenomenon," says Valerie Masson Delmotte of the Climate and Environment Sciences Laboratory in France.

Less ice now means even less ice in the future

These weather events are worsened by a background of rising temperatures. "The long-term decline in sea ice in the Arctic can be attributed to climate change," says Ed Blockley of the Met Office's Polar Climate Group.

The lack of ice formation in the Arctic is leading to further warming temperatures, as the majority of the Sun's rays are not reflected back into the atmosphere by the bright white snow and ice. Instead they're absorbed by the ocean, warming it up.

"If you look at the extent of sea ice, then you can see the vicious circle right away, because there's a clear downward trend," said Stendel.

Tommy Monk wrote:
http://www.climatedepot.com/2016/07/20/global-warming-expedition-stopped-in-its-tracks-by-arctic-sea-ice/


Arctic ice may be slightly lower average covering now compared to 40 years ago... (inaccurate figures suggest that) from maybe around 16million km2 then to around 15million km2 recently as average... but antarctic ice has increased over this same time from around 18million km2 (claimed 40 years ago) to 20million km2 in recent years too!


Plus your article claims temp at North pole... firstly, this is only a claim and only based on a couple of days compared to a longer term average... having a couple of days of warmer air blowing in every so often is probably nothing unusual...

Then secondly... is the article talking about the north pole that is the Earth's rotational axis point...?

Or the magnetic north pole that is moving miles further and further south every year into warmer climes...?



Re the op article...

Lord Foul wrote:way north of where it was in 2010 and heading north and very slightly west at a rate of knots...
in fact its closer to the geographic north pole than it has been for a long while


oh god my cat has just farted.........

(thought you might like to know that)