Arctic faces hottest summer yet

Arctic temperatures reached the warmest they ever were this past summer. A recent NOAA report card showed that as a result of this warming climate, the area is becoming wetter, greener and less icy. This past summer, those warm temperatures in the Arctic also translated to intense wildfires and flooding due to glacial thinning. The recent report, written by 82 authors in 13 countries, shows that looking at a satellite record that covers the past 45 years, the last 17 years have had the smallest annual minimums for sea ice cover. This past summer, the sea ice cover was the sixth smallest on record. The report touched on ways these changes may affect ships, salmon populations, flooding and more.

For more on how warming temperatures are affecting wildlife, members may log in and read “Battling the Heat” in the November/December issue of The Wildlife Professional.

Read an article on the report in the Washington Post.