The Arctic and the rest of the planet are heating up rapidly. Emissions are at a record high and fossil fuels in demand against the background of the energy crisis through Russia's war on Ukraine. Can 2023 bring a decisive shift in climate action?
Category: Cryosphere
Wildfires and ice: heatwaves put spotlight on the Arctic
Rarely have I heard the Arctic being mentioned so often in the media as in this hottest of summers. I wish the reason was a good one. Alas. The warming Arctic plays a key role in the development of the heat-waves currently disrupting life and livelihoods around the globe.
The Arctic – A UK Science Perspective
Durham University just hosted the UK Arctic Science Conference 2022. Interesting times, in the shadow of the Russia-Ukraine invasion and troubled relations between Moscow and the West. Still, international collaboration to research the changing Arctic is key.
Thawing permafrost: Arctic future on shaky ground bodes ill for the global climate
Arctic permafrost is thawing, threatening northern communities and speeding up the climate change that is thawing it in the first place. Only rapid and substantial cuts in greenhouse gas emissions can help avert catastrophe.
Business as usual for fossil fuels as polar ice melt bodes more climate chaos in 2022
At the end of a year of fires, floods and other climate catastrophes, is the world coming to its senses? Or are we burning on regardless?
COP26 – A Glasgow fairytale
The situation for planet earth was looking bleak. There was more of those dangerous heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere than ever before (and the records could go back way beyond the bounds of human history, looking into the earth, the oceans and the ice.) The planet had become a hothouse. The ice at the poles …
Greenland to Glasgow: Arctic SOS to Climate COP26 as scientists demand urgent action to slow ice loss and avert sea-level and weather catastrophe.
Top scientists working on the Greenland ice sheet and Arctic climate change issued an urgent message. The ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are melting faster than ever, with catastrophic implications for global sea level and the world's weather – and only rapid and substantial action can slow the pace.
Tipping points: can a leaked report tip the scales to climate action?
I was working through my Twitter feed, fretting about the incredible temperatures in the high north and researching my next blog post. Could geoengineering be the way to cool the Arctic and the planet? Should it? And was the current hype about it not distracting too much attention from the need for immediate and drastic …
Continue reading Tipping points: can a leaked report tip the scales to climate action?
Hot times ahead as oil-fuelled Russia chairs the Arctic Council and polar warming picks up pace
The bi-annual Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council in Reykjavik, Iceland, on May 20th attracted a lot of media interest – not least because the new US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was attending, alongside Russian foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. This is one arena where the two rivals and Cold War adversaries come together as …
Can we make peace with nature in a rapidly changing Arctic?
The United Nations Environment Programme is calling for bold action to “make peace with nature” by cutting greenhouse gases and restoring biodiversity as the world emerges from the COVID pandemic. “Innovation and investment only in activities that protect both people and nature”, is the motto. What does this mean for the rapidly changing Arctic and the Indigenous peoples living there?
The Ice Blog 