The summer of 2023 was the warmest on record in the Arctic, according to a landmark US report that presents a disturbing picture of this region of the world, which is particularly vulnerable to the effects of global warming, reports AFP.

The annual report released Tuesday by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) highlights, among other things, the scale of the record fires that affected Canada this summer and the continued melting of the Greenland ice sheet.

Last year (October 2022-September 2023) was the sixth warmest since 1900 in the Arctic. But the summer (July-September) was a record, the average temperature was 6.4°C.

“The main message of this year’s report is that now is the time to act,” NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said in a statement.

“As a nation and as a global community, we must significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving these changes,” he added.

Meanwhile, in Dubai, talks at COP28, the UN’s annual climate conference, have been blocked by some oil-producing countries from including a target to phase out fossil fuels in the final text of the agreement.

Overall, 2023 will be the warmest on record, Europe’s Copernicus service predicted earlier this month.

Destructive fires

The Arctic is affected by a phenomenon known as “Arctic amplification,” which means that the region is warming faster than mid-latitudes.

More than 80 experts from 13 countries participated in the preparation of this report, which has been published annually for the past 18 years.

They focused on observed changes in precipitation, which was above normal on average but with significant regional variation.

For example, the summer was abnormally dry on the North American continent, causing devastating fires recorded in Canada. This led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and caused intense air pollution.

In Greenland, despite above-average snow accumulation during the winter, the mass of the ice sheet continued to shrink – albeit less than in other years.

The report notes that on June 26, 2023, one station at the highest point of the ice sheet reached a temperature of 0.4°C, recording the fifth melt since records began 34 years ago.

Melting Greenland is contributing to rising sea levels, with consequences far beyond the Arctic.

photo: Halyna Barska | Dreamstime.com