SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Firefighters attempt to extinguish a wildfire in the village of Kuel in Yakutia, Sakha, Russia on August 8, 2021. (Photo: Ivan Nikiforov/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Record-High Arctic Temperature of 38degC 'More Befitting the Mediterranean,' UN Warns
"This new Arctic record is one of a series of observations... that sound the alarm bells about our changing climate."
Dec 14, 2021
The World Meteorological Organization on Tuesday confirmed that a new record-high Arctic temperature was set during this summer's devastating Siberian heatwave when the Russian town of Verkhoyansk hit 38degC or 100.4degF.
"The WMO Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes has never had so many ongoing simultaneous investigations."
"The temperature, more befitting the Mediterranean than the Arctic," was measured at a meteorological observing station on June 20 amid an "exceptional and prolonged" Siberian heatwave, the United Nations weather agency said.
"Average temperatures over Arctic Siberia reached as high as 10degC above normal for much of summer last year, fueling devastating fires, driving massive sea ice loss, and playing a major role in 2020 being one of the three warmest years on record," the agency explained.
The Arctic, which has been heating up for over a century due to greenhouse gas pollution, is one of the fastest-warming regions in the world. That is especially alarming considering that thawing permafrost portends the release of additional carbon dioxide and methane--leading to accelerated warming that causes further thawing in a vicious feedback loop.
According to a recent study, the Arctic has been heating up three times faster than the rest of the globe for the past five decades--one of many developments that climate scientists and activists have pointed to when appealing for more ambitious policies to transition away from fossil fuels rapidly, the primary source of planet-wrecking emissions.
According to WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas, "This new Arctic record is one of a series of observations reported to the WMO Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes that sound the alarm bells about our changing climate."
In addition to Mediterranean-like temperatures in the Arctic, the Antarctic continent also experienced a new record-high temperature of 18.3degC in 2020, said Taalas.
Moreover, he added, "WMO investigators are currently seeking to verify temperature readings of 54.4degC recorded in both 2020 and 2021 in the world's hottest place, Death Valley in California, and to validate a new reported European temperature record of 48.8degC in the Italian island of Sicily this summer."
"The WMO Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes has never had so many ongoing simultaneous investigations," Taalas lamented.
This year, in light of recent trends, a panel of experts created the new category of "highest recorded temperature at or north of 66.50, the Arctic Circle," for the U.N. weather agency's archive.
As a result of the new Arctic category being added, both Polar regions are now represented in the international record books. The WMO has listed temperature extremes for Antarctica and its environs since 2007.
Alluding to the 38degC temperature recorded in Verkhoyansk in June, WMO evaluation committee member Blair Trewin from Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said that "verifying records of this type is important in having a reliable base of evidence as to how our climate's most extreme extremes are changing."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Kenny Stancil
Kenny Stancil is senior researcher at the Revolving Door Project and a former staff writer for Common Dreams.
arcticcarbon dioxideclimate scientistsfossil fuelsmediterranean seamethanepermafrostsiberiaunited nationsworld meteorological organizationtemperature records
The World Meteorological Organization on Tuesday confirmed that a new record-high Arctic temperature was set during this summer's devastating Siberian heatwave when the Russian town of Verkhoyansk hit 38degC or 100.4degF.
"The WMO Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes has never had so many ongoing simultaneous investigations."
"The temperature, more befitting the Mediterranean than the Arctic," was measured at a meteorological observing station on June 20 amid an "exceptional and prolonged" Siberian heatwave, the United Nations weather agency said.
"Average temperatures over Arctic Siberia reached as high as 10degC above normal for much of summer last year, fueling devastating fires, driving massive sea ice loss, and playing a major role in 2020 being one of the three warmest years on record," the agency explained.
The Arctic, which has been heating up for over a century due to greenhouse gas pollution, is one of the fastest-warming regions in the world. That is especially alarming considering that thawing permafrost portends the release of additional carbon dioxide and methane--leading to accelerated warming that causes further thawing in a vicious feedback loop.
According to a recent study, the Arctic has been heating up three times faster than the rest of the globe for the past five decades--one of many developments that climate scientists and activists have pointed to when appealing for more ambitious policies to transition away from fossil fuels rapidly, the primary source of planet-wrecking emissions.
According to WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas, "This new Arctic record is one of a series of observations reported to the WMO Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes that sound the alarm bells about our changing climate."
In addition to Mediterranean-like temperatures in the Arctic, the Antarctic continent also experienced a new record-high temperature of 18.3degC in 2020, said Taalas.
Moreover, he added, "WMO investigators are currently seeking to verify temperature readings of 54.4degC recorded in both 2020 and 2021 in the world's hottest place, Death Valley in California, and to validate a new reported European temperature record of 48.8degC in the Italian island of Sicily this summer."
"The WMO Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes has never had so many ongoing simultaneous investigations," Taalas lamented.
This year, in light of recent trends, a panel of experts created the new category of "highest recorded temperature at or north of 66.50, the Arctic Circle," for the U.N. weather agency's archive.
As a result of the new Arctic category being added, both Polar regions are now represented in the international record books. The WMO has listed temperature extremes for Antarctica and its environs since 2007.
Alluding to the 38degC temperature recorded in Verkhoyansk in June, WMO evaluation committee member Blair Trewin from Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said that "verifying records of this type is important in having a reliable base of evidence as to how our climate's most extreme extremes are changing."
From Your Site Articles
Kenny Stancil
Kenny Stancil is senior researcher at the Revolving Door Project and a former staff writer for Common Dreams.
The World Meteorological Organization on Tuesday confirmed that a new record-high Arctic temperature was set during this summer's devastating Siberian heatwave when the Russian town of Verkhoyansk hit 38degC or 100.4degF.
"The WMO Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes has never had so many ongoing simultaneous investigations."
"The temperature, more befitting the Mediterranean than the Arctic," was measured at a meteorological observing station on June 20 amid an "exceptional and prolonged" Siberian heatwave, the United Nations weather agency said.
"Average temperatures over Arctic Siberia reached as high as 10degC above normal for much of summer last year, fueling devastating fires, driving massive sea ice loss, and playing a major role in 2020 being one of the three warmest years on record," the agency explained.
The Arctic, which has been heating up for over a century due to greenhouse gas pollution, is one of the fastest-warming regions in the world. That is especially alarming considering that thawing permafrost portends the release of additional carbon dioxide and methane--leading to accelerated warming that causes further thawing in a vicious feedback loop.
According to a recent study, the Arctic has been heating up three times faster than the rest of the globe for the past five decades--one of many developments that climate scientists and activists have pointed to when appealing for more ambitious policies to transition away from fossil fuels rapidly, the primary source of planet-wrecking emissions.
According to WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas, "This new Arctic record is one of a series of observations reported to the WMO Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes that sound the alarm bells about our changing climate."
In addition to Mediterranean-like temperatures in the Arctic, the Antarctic continent also experienced a new record-high temperature of 18.3degC in 2020, said Taalas.
Moreover, he added, "WMO investigators are currently seeking to verify temperature readings of 54.4degC recorded in both 2020 and 2021 in the world's hottest place, Death Valley in California, and to validate a new reported European temperature record of 48.8degC in the Italian island of Sicily this summer."
"The WMO Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes has never had so many ongoing simultaneous investigations," Taalas lamented.
This year, in light of recent trends, a panel of experts created the new category of "highest recorded temperature at or north of 66.50, the Arctic Circle," for the U.N. weather agency's archive.
As a result of the new Arctic category being added, both Polar regions are now represented in the international record books. The WMO has listed temperature extremes for Antarctica and its environs since 2007.
Alluding to the 38degC temperature recorded in Verkhoyansk in June, WMO evaluation committee member Blair Trewin from Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said that "verifying records of this type is important in having a reliable base of evidence as to how our climate's most extreme extremes are changing."
From Your Site Articles
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.