In a glaring exposure, the scientists have found that the temperature in Alaska is rising at record high with below average snow cover in the Arctic region due to the excess summer melting of ice in Greenland.
The current treat of snow cover and melting of glaciers have raised new concerns about global warming and the degrading climatic conditions.
The revelations have been made in the annual Arctic Report Card prepared by 63 scientists from 13 countries. The annual report card, which is updated each year, was released on Wednesday during the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.
Craig McLean, acting assistant administrator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said, “Arctic warming is setting off changes that affect people and the environment in this fragile region, and has broader effects beyond the Arctic on global security, trade, and climate.”
The air temperature in the Arctic region continued to get warmer as compared to the average temperature recorded in the past 30 years.
Scientists say air temperature is a good indicating tool and driver of global as well as regional changes.
The report said, “The Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes.”
According to the scientists, the current trend indicates that Arctic Amplification is continuing.
The current report includes data collected between October 2013 and September 2014. During the said time frame, extreme cold temperatures were reported in eastern North America and central Russia, and unusually warmer air temperatures in Alaska and northern Europe.
The report showed Alaska’s temperature anomalies were recorded more than 18 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) which is higher than the January average.
The snow cover in the Arctic region during the spring was recorded below the 1981-2010 average, while the new record lows were witnessed in April this year for Eurasia.
The snow cover in North America in June was the third lowest on record. The report further showed, “snow disappeared three to four weeks earlier than normal in Scandinavia, western Russia, western Alaska and the Canadian subarctic because of below average accumulation and above normal spring temperatures.”
The temperatures of sea surface in the Arctic also increased, mainly in the Chukchi Sea, northwest of Alaska. The regions reported increase in temperatures at a rate of 0.9 degrees F (0.5 degree Celcius) per decade.
The melting of glaciers along the Greenland ice sheet was recorded above average for most of the summer. But the total mass of the ice sheet remained uninfluenced from 2013 to 2014.
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